Crater patterned 3-D proton conducting ceramic fuel cell architecture with ultra thin Y:BaZrO3 electrolyte

A Silicon-Based Nanothin Film Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Array with Edge Reinforced Support for Enhanced Thermal Mechanical Stability

A silicon-based micro-solid oxide fuel cell (μ-SOFC) with electrolyte membrane array embedded in a thin silicon supporting membrane, featuring a unique edge reinforcement structure, was demonstrated by utilizing simple silicon micromachining processes. The square silicon supporting membrane, fabricated by combining deep reactive ion etching and through-wafer wet etching processes, has thicker edges and corners than the center portion of the membrane, which effectively improved the mechanical stability of the entire fuel cell array during cell fabrication and cell operation. The 20 μm thick single crystalline silicon membrane supports a large number of 80 nm thick free-standing yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolytes. The fuel cell array was stably maintained at the open circuit voltage (OCV) of 1.04 V for more than 30 h of operation at 350 °C. A high peak power density of 317 mW/cm(2) was obtained at 400 °C. During a rigorous in situ thermal cycling between 150 and 400 °C at a fast cooling and heating rate of 25 °C/min, the OCV of the μ-SOFC recovered to its high value of 1.07 V without any drop caused by membrane failure, which justifies the superior thermal stability of this novel cell architecture.

Proton-conducting Micro-solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Improved Cathode Reactions by a Nanoscale Thin Film Gadolinium-doped Ceria Interlayer

An 8 nm-thick gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) layer was inserted as a cathodic interlayer between the nanoscale proton-conducting yttrium-doped barium zirconate (BZY) electrolyte and the porous platinum cathode of a micro-solid oxide fuel cell (μ-SOFC), which has effectively improved the cathode reaction kinetics and rendered high cell power density. The addition of the GDC interlayer significantly reduced the cathodic activation loss and increased the peak power density of the μ-SOFC by 33% at 400 °C. The peak power density reached 445 mW/cm² at 425 °C, which is the highest among the reported μ-SOFCs using proton-conducting electrolytes. The impressive performance was attributed to the mixed protonic and oxygen ionic conducting properties of the nano-granular GDC, and also to the high densities of grain boundaries and lattice defects in GDC interlayer that favored the oxygen incorporation and transportation during the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the water evolution reaction at cathode.

Three-dimensional nanostructured bilayer solid oxide fuel cell with 1.3 W/cm(2) at 450 °C

Obtaining high power density at low operating temperatures has been an ongoing challenge in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), which are efficient engines to generate electrical energy from fuels. Here we report successful demonstration of a thin-film three-dimensional (3-D) SOFC architecture achieving a peak power density of 1.3 W/cm(2) obtained at 450 °C. This is made possible by nanostructuring of the ultrathin (60 nm) electrolyte interposed with a nanogranular catalytic interlayer at the cathode/electrolyte interface. We attribute the superior cell performance to significant reduction in both the ohmic and the polarization losses due to the combined effects of employing an ultrathin film electrolyte, enhancement of effective area by 3-D architecture, and superior catalytic activity by the ceria-based interlayer at the cathode. These insights will help design high-efficiency SOFCs that operate at low temperatures with power densities that are of practical significance.

Towards the next generation of solid oxide fuel cells operating below 600 °c with chemically stable proton-conducting electrolytes

The need for reducing the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operating temperature below 600 °C is imposed by cost reduction, which is essential for widespread SOFC use, but might also disclose new applications. To this aim, high-temperature proton-conducting (HTPC) oxides have gained widespread interest as electrolyte materials alternative to oxygen-ion conductors. This Progress Report describes recent developments in electrolyte, anode, and cathode materials for protonic SOFCs, addressing the issue of chemical stability, processability, and good power performance below 600 °C. Different fabrication methods are reported for anode-supported SOFCs, obtained using state-of-the-art, chemically stable proton-conducting electrolyte films. Recent findings show significant improvements in the power density output of cells based on doped barium zirconate electrolytes, pointing out towards the feasibility of the next generation of protonic SOFCs, including a good potential for the development of miniaturized SOFCs as portable power supplies.