Ceramic nanocomposites in solid oxide fuel cells

Term paper presentation for the course of

Composite Materials

Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

IIT Kharagpur

SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS

Electrolyte is in solid state

Anode reaction:
H2 + O2- H2O + 2e-

Cathode reaction:
1/2 O2+ 2e-O2-

overall reaction:H2 + 1/2 O2 H2O

Advantages:
High energy efficiency and low
emission
No need for precious metal
High tolerance to impurities

SOFC COMPONENTS

Challenges:
High temperature:
YSZ based SOFC has an operating temperature of 1000C
Utilization of H2:
High production cost

LOWERING OPERATION TEMPERATURE: COMPOSITE

ELECTROLYTES
A composite electrolyte is a multiphase membrane made of two or
more components to achieve an enhancement of the overall ionic
conductivity
LTSOFC (300600C) can be
achieved with
nanocomposite
materials

conductivities of

SDC(Li 0.435 Na 0.315 K

0.25 )2 CO3 composite
electrolytes

() SDC (samarium doped

ceria)
() SDC10 wt.% carbonate
() SDC30 wt.% carbonate
() SDC50 wt.% carbonate

SDC-Na2Co3 ELECTROLYTE

coreshell nanocomposite material prepared by coprecipitation

SDC core and amorphous Na2CO3 shell in nanoscale
applied as electrolyte in low-temperature SOFC

Peaks observed for CeO2

Peaks absent for Na2CO3

Faceted irregular shaped particles <100nm

SDC-Na2Co3 ELECTROLYTE

(a): TEM image

uniform Na2CO3 thin layer of
46 nm

Na2CO3 layer (46 nm)

(b): HRTEM image

Core and shell interface.

SDC-Na2Co3 ELECTROLYTE

SDC-Na2Co3 ELECTROLYTE
simultaneous H+ and O2 conduction @ 300 oC

H+conductivity is 1
2 orders of
magnitude higher
than the
O2 conductivity.
Amorphous nature of
Na2CO3 provides
disorder at high
temperature
facilitating higher
charge transfer.

DUAL ION CONDUCTION

The interface
supplies high
conductive
path for proton
Oxygen ions
transported
through SDC
grain interiors.

MULTI-ION FLOW

NANOCOMPOSITE ELECTRODES
Function of anode :
1.Catalyse electrochemical oxidation of fuel
2.transfer the released charges to a current collector.
These electrode reactions can only occur at the oxide-ion
conductor/electronic conductor/gas three-phase boundary (TPB)

CuZn-NSDC ANODE
fine particle size
distribution (50
100 nm)
adequate porosity
well-connected Cu
and Zn.
Enhanced
electronic
conductivity.
SDC-Na2CO3 as
main oxygen ion
conductor.

CuZn-NSDC ANODE

Hexagonal Zn
atoms mixed
with 5 nm Cu
particles.
Interconnected
anode structure
enhances
diffusion.

Hexagonal Zn
(10 nm)

CONCLUSIONS

Use of SOFCS at low temperatures is possible with

nanocomposite materials which provide higher conduction.

for commercialization of this environment friendly technology,

development of cheaper materials for electrolyte and electrode
is imperative.
Use of crude hydrocarbon fuel is possible with SDC-carbonate.

REFERENCES

Rizwan Raza , Xiaodi Wang, Ying Ma, Bin Zhu, A nanostructure

anode (Cu0.2Zn0.8) for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell at 400
600 C, Journal of Power Sources,Volume 195, Issue 24, 15
December 2010, Pages 80678070
Xiaodi Wanga, Ying Maa, Shanghua Li a, Abdel-Hady Kashyoutb,
Bin Zhuc, Mamoun Muhammeda, Ceria-based nanocomposite with
simultaneous proton and oxygen ion conductivity for lowtemperature solid oxide fuel cells, Journal of Power Sources 196
(2011) 27542758
Xiaodi Wang, Ying Mab, Rizwan Raza, Mamoun Muhammed, Bin
Zhu, Novel coreshell SDC/amorphous Na2CO3 nanocomposite
electrolyte for low-temperature SOFCs, Electrochemistry
Communications 10 (2008) 16171620
Yicheng Zhao, Chun Xia, Lijun Jia, Zhiming Wang, Hongjiao Li,
Jinshuai Yu, Yongdan Li*, Recent progress on solid oxide fuel cell:
Lowering temperature and utilizing non-hydrogen fuels,
international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (2013) 1-20