Abstract

Interest in low-temperature operation of solid oxide fuel cells is growing. Recent advances in perovskite phases have resulted in an efficient H+/O2-/e- triple-conducting electrode BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3-δ for low-temperature fuel cells. Here, we further develop BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3-δ for electrolyte applications by taking advantage of its high ionic conduction while suppressing its electronic conduction through constructing a BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3-δ-ZnO p-n heterostructure. With this approach, it has been demonstrated that BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3-δ can be applied in a fuel cell with good electrolyte functionality, achieving attractive ionic conductivity and cell performance. Further investigation confirms the hybrid H+/O2- conducting capability of BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3-δ-ZnO. An energy band alignment mechanism based on a p-n heterojunction is proposed to explain the suppression of electronic conductivity and promotion of ionic conductivity in the heterostructure. Our findings demonstrate that BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3-δ is not only a good electrode but also a highly promising electrolyte. The approach reveals insight for developing advanced low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell electrolytes.

Solid oxide fuel cells enable efficient electricity generation at high temperatures. Here the authors incorporate a mixed ion-electron semiconductor into another semiconductor to form a p-n junction to suppress electron conduction and enhance ion conduction, leading to a low-temperature electrolyte.

Details

Title
Shaping triple-conducting semiconductor BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3-δ into an electrolyte for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells
Author
Chen, Xia 1 ; Youquan, Mi 2 ; Wang, Baoyuan 2 ; Lin, Bin 3 ; Chen, Gang 4 ; Zhu, Bin 5 

 Hubei University, Key Laboratory of Ferro and Piezoelectric Materials and Devices of Hubei Province, Faculty of Physics and Electronic Science, Wuhan, China (GRID:grid.34418.3a) (ISNI:0000 0001 0727 9022); China University of Geosciences, Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, Wuhan, China (GRID:grid.503241.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 1760 9015); KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Energy Technology, Stockholm, Sweden (GRID:grid.5037.1) (ISNI:0000000121581746) 
 Hubei University, Key Laboratory of Ferro and Piezoelectric Materials and Devices of Hubei Province, Faculty of Physics and Electronic Science, Wuhan, China (GRID:grid.34418.3a) (ISNI:0000 0001 0727 9022) 
 University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, School of Materials and Energy, Chengdu, China (GRID:grid.54549.39) (ISNI:0000 0004 0369 4060) 
 Northeastern University, Liaoning Key Laboratory for Metallurgical Sensor and Technology, Shenyang, China (GRID:grid.412252.2) (ISNI:0000 0004 0368 6968) 
 Hubei University, Key Laboratory of Ferro and Piezoelectric Materials and Devices of Hubei Province, Faculty of Physics and Electronic Science, Wuhan, China (GRID:grid.34418.3a) (ISNI:0000 0001 0727 9022); China University of Geosciences, Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, Wuhan, China (GRID:grid.503241.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 1760 9015); Loughborough University, Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering, Loughborough, UK (GRID:grid.6571.5) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8542) 
Publication year
2019
Publication date
2019
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20411723
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2208722413
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2019. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.