Issue

Vol. 13 (2021)

A Bulk-Heterostructure Nanocomposite Electrolyte of Ce0.8Sm0.2O2-δ–SrTiO3 for Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-020-00574-3
Yixiao Cai
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Key Laboratory of High Performance Fibers and Products, Engineering Research Center of Technical Textiles, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 201620 Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Yang Chen
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Key Laboratory of High Performance Fibers and Products, Engineering Research Center of Technical Textiles, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 201620 Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Muhammad Akbar
Key Laboratory of Ferro and Piezoelectric Materials and Devices of Hubei Province, Faculty of Physics and Electronic Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, Hubei, People’s Republic of China
Bin Jin
Key Laboratory of Ferro and Piezoelectric Materials and Devices of Hubei Province, Faculty of Physics and Electronic Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, Hubei, People’s Republic of China
Zhengwen Tu
Key Laboratory of Ferro and Piezoelectric Materials and Devices of Hubei Province, Faculty of Physics and Electronic Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, Hubei, People’s Republic of China
Naveed Mushtaq
Key Laboratory of Ferro and Piezoelectric Materials and Devices of Hubei Province, Faculty of Physics and Electronic Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, Hubei, People’s Republic of China
Baoyuan Wang
Key Laboratory of Ferro and Piezoelectric Materials and Devices of Hubei Province, Faculty of Physics and Electronic Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, Hubei, People’s Republic of China
Xiangyang Qu
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Key Laboratory of High Performance Fibers and Products, Engineering Research Center of Technical Textiles, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 201620 Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
Chen Xia
Key Laboratory of Ferro and Piezoelectric Materials and Devices of Hubei Province, Faculty of Physics and Electronic Science, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, Hubei, People’s Republic of China
Yizhong Huang
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Republic of Singapore

Corresponding Author: Yizhong Huang

yzhuang@ntu.edu.sg

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 13 (2021), Article Number: 46

Abstract

Since colossal ionic conductivity was detected in the planar heterostructures consisting of fluorite and perovskite, heterostructures have drawn great research interest as potential electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). However, so far, the practical uses of such promising material have failed to materialize in SOFCs due to the short circuit risk caused by SrTiO3. In this study, a series of fluorite/perovskite heterostructures made of Sm-doped CeO2 and SrTiO3 (SDC–STO) are developed in a new bulk-heterostructure form and evaluated as electrolytes. The prepared cells exhibit a peak power density of 892 mW cm−2 along with open circuit voltage of 1.1 V at 550 °C for the optimal composition of 4SDC–6STO. Further electrical studies reveal a high ionic conductivity of 0.05–0.14 S cm−1 at 450–550 °C, which shows remarkable enhancement compared to that of simplex SDC. Via AC impedance analysis, it has been shown that the small grain-boundary and electrode polarization resistances play the major roles in resulting in the superior performance. Furthermore, a Schottky junction effect is proposed by considering the work functions and electronic affinities to interpret the avoidance of short circuit in the SDC–STO cell. Our findings thus indicate a new insight to design electrolytes for low-temperature SOFCs.


Highlights:


1 Bulk-heterostructure electrolytes based on Ce0.8Sm0.2O2-δ and SrTiO3 are developed for solid oxide fuel cells
2 The interface characteristics are investigated to understand the fast ionic transport obtained in the heterostructure.
3 The Schottky junction effect is proposed by taking account of work functions and electronic affinities for the first time.

Keywords

Bulk-heterostructure SOFC electrolyte Ionic conductivity Schottky junction Work function
Cai, Yixiao, Yang Chen, Muhammad Akbar, Bin Jin, Zhengwen Tu, Naveed Mushtaq, Baoyuan Wang, Xiangyang Qu, Chen Xia, and Yizhong Huang. 2021. “A Bulk-Heterostructure Nanocomposite Electrolyte of Ce0.8Sm0.2O2-δ–SrTiO3 for Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells”. Nano-Micro Letters 13 (January):46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-020-00574-3.
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