Electrochemical Investigations of BaCe0.7-xSmxZr0.2Y0.1O3-δ Sintered at a Low Sintering Temperature as a Perovskite Electrolyte for IT-SOFCs

Perovskite materials have gained a lot of interest in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) applications owing to their exceptional properties; however, ideal perovskites exhibit proton conduction due to availability of low oxygen vacancies, which limit their application as SOFC electrolytes. In the current project, Sm was doped at the B-site of a BaCe0.7-xSmxZr0.2Y0.1O3-δ perovskite electrolyte for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). BaCe0.7-xSmxZr0.2Y0.1O3-δ electrolytes were synthesized through a cost-effective coprecipitation method and were sintered at a low sintering temperature. The effects of samarium (Sm) doping on the electrochemical performance of BaCe0.7-xSmxZr0.2Y0.1O3-δ were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that the BaCe0.7-xSmxZr0.2Y0.1O3-δ electrolyte material retained the perovskite structure. The secondary phase of Sm2O3 was observed for BaCe0.4Sm0.3Zr0.2Y0.1O3-δ. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) imaging displayed the dense microstructure for all the compositions, while prominent crystal growth was observed for composition x = 0.3. The formation of the perovskite structure and the presence of the hydroxyl groups of metal oxides for all the compositions were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). An increased symmetrical disturbance was also observed for the increased doping ratio of the Sm. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of all the compositions showed no major weight loss in the SOFC operating temperature range. It was also noted that the conductivity of BaCe0.7-xSmxZr0.2Y0.1O3-δ gradually decreased with the increased contents of the Sm metal. The maximum power density of 390 mW cm−2, and an open-circuit voltage (OCV) of 1.0 V at 600 °C, were obtained, showing that BaCe0.7-xSmxZr0.2Y0.1O3-δ, synthesized by a cost-effective method and sintered at a low temperature, can be used as a proton-conducting electrolyte for IT-SOFCs.

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Record-low sintering-temperature (600 °C) of solid-oxide fuel cell electrolyte

Journal of Alloys and Compounds ◽

10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.02.184 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 672 ◽

pp. 397-402 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Hari Prasad Dasari ◽

Kiyong Ahn ◽

Sun-Young Park ◽

Jongsup Hong ◽

Hyoungchul Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cell ◽

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell ◽

Sintering Temperature ◽

Solid Oxide ◽

Oxide Fuel ◽

Low Sintering Temperature

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Highly-conductive proton-conducting electrolyte membranes with a low sintering temperature for solid oxide fuel cells

Journal of Membrane Science ◽

10.1016/j.memsci.2018.04.037 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 558 ◽

pp. 17-25 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Xi Xu ◽

Lei Bi ◽

X.S. Zhao

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cells ◽

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells ◽

Sintering Temperature ◽

Solid Oxide ◽

Oxide Fuel ◽

Proton Conducting ◽

Electrolyte Membranes ◽

Low Sintering Temperature

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Nanostructured Double Perovskite Cathode With Low Sintering Temperature For Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

ChemSusChem ◽

10.1002/cssc.201500509 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (18) ◽

pp. 3153-3158 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Seona Kim ◽

Areum Jun ◽

Ohhun Kwon ◽

Junyoung Kim ◽

Seonyoung Yoo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cells ◽

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells ◽

Sintering Temperature ◽

Double Perovskite ◽

Solid Oxide ◽

Intermediate Temperature ◽

Oxide Fuel ◽

Low Sintering Temperature

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Effect of sintering temperature on perovskite-based hollow fiber as a substrate for cathode-supported micro-tubular solid oxide fuel cell

Journal of the Australian Ceramic Society ◽

10.1007/s41779-021-00620-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mazlinda Ab Rahman ◽

Mohd Hafiz Dzarfan Othman ◽

Hamzah Fansuri ◽

Zawati Harun ◽

Siti Munira Jamil ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cell ◽

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell ◽

Hollow Fiber ◽

Sintering Temperature ◽

Solid Oxide ◽

Oxide Fuel

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Influence of Composition of Gd-Doped Ceria Electrolyte on Performance of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Materials Science Forum ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.724.389 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 724 ◽

pp. 389-392 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Yuta Ibusuki ◽

Yoshihiro Hirata ◽

Soichiro Sameshima ◽

Naoki Matsunaga

Keyword(s):

Power Density ◽

Open Circuit ◽

Solid Oxide ◽

Maximum Power ◽

Cell Performance ◽

Excess Oxygen ◽

Doped Ceria ◽

Oxide Fuel ◽

Maximum Power Density ◽

Oxide Ion Conductivity

Cell performance was measured for four types of Ni (40 vol%)-Gd-doped ceria (GDC) anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells with GDC electrolyte (40-120 μm thickness) of Ce1-xGdxO2-x/2 compositions (x = 0.05, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2) at 773-1073 K using a H2 fuel. (La0.8Sr0.2)(Co0.8Fe0.2)O3 cathode was printed on the GDC films. The open circuit voltage and maximum power density at 873-1073 K showed a maximum at x = 0.1. The maximum power density at x = 0.1 was 166 and 506 mW/cm2 at 873 and 1073 K, respectively. The excess oxygen vacancy at x = 0.1-0.2, which does not contribute to the oxide ion conductivity, reacts with a H2 fuel to form electrons (H2 + VO 2H+ + VO×, VO× VO + 2e-). This reaction reduces the cell performance.

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Strategy towards cost-effective low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells: A mixed-conductive membrane comprised of natural minerals and perovskite oxide

Journal of Power Sources ◽

10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.12.120 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 342 ◽

pp. 779-786 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Chen Xia ◽

Yixiao Cai ◽

Baoyuan Wang ◽

Muhammad Afzal ◽

Wei Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cells ◽

Low Temperature ◽

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Solid Oxide ◽

Perovskite Oxide ◽

Oxide Fuel ◽

Natural Minerals ◽

Conductive Membrane

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Remarkable Ionic Conductivity in a LZO-SDC Composite for Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Nanomaterials ◽

10.3390/nano11092277 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 2277

Author(s):

Zhengwen Tu ◽

Yuanyuan Tian ◽

Mingyang Liu ◽

Bin Jin ◽

Muhammad Akbar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fuel Cells ◽

Ionic Conductivity ◽

Low Temperature ◽

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells ◽

Ionic Conduction ◽

Open Circuit ◽

Solid Oxide ◽

Oxide Fuel ◽

Open Circuit Voltages ◽

Composite Samples

Recently, appreciable ionic conduction has been frequently observed in multifunctional semiconductors, pointing out an unconventional way to develop electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Among them, ZnO and Li-doped ZnO (LZO) have shown great potential. In this study, to further improve the electrolyte capability of LZO, a typical ionic conductor Sm0.2Ce0.8O1.9 (SDC) is introduced to form semiconductor-ionic composites with LZO. The designed LZO-SDC composites with various mass ratios are successfully demonstrated in SOFCs at low operating temperatures, exhibiting a peak power density of 713 mW cm−2 and high open circuit voltages (OCVs) of 1.04 V at 550 °C by the best-performing sample 5LZO-5SDC, which is superior to that of simplex LZO electrolyte SOFC. Our electrochemical and electrical analysis reveals that the composite samples have attained enhanced ionic conduction as compared to pure LZO and SDC, reaching a remarkable ionic conductivity of 0.16 S cm−1 at 550 °C, and shows hybrid H+/O2− conducting capability with predominant H+ conduction. Further investigation in terms of interface inspection manifests that oxygen vacancies are enriched at the hetero-interface between LZO and SDC, which gives rise to the high ionic conductivity of 5LZO-5SDC. Our study thus suggests the tremendous potentials of semiconductor ionic materials and indicates an effective way to develop fast ionic transport in electrolytes for low-temperature SOFCs.

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