• Energy Research

Funding Information: This work was supported Southeast University (SEU) project 3203002003A1 and National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under the grant 51772080 and 11604088 . Jiangsu Provincial Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent program Project No. JSSCRC2021491 . Industry-University-Research Cooperation Project of Jiangsu Province in China , Grant No. BY2021057 . Dr. Asghar thanks the Hubei Talent 100 program and Academy of Finland ( 13329016 , 13322738 ) for their financial support. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors Electrolytes with high-proton conduction and low activation energy are attractive for reducing the high operating temperature of solid-oxide fuel cells to less than <600 °C. In this work, we have fabricated semiconducting electrolyte SrFeTiO3-δ (SFT) material exhibiting high ionic conduction and exceptionally high protonic conduction at low operating temperature but with low electronic conduction to evade the short-circuiting issue. The prepared fuel cell device exhibited high open-circuit voltage (OCV) and a high-power output of 534 mW/cm2, of which 474 mW/cm2 could be for sure be related to the protonic part. The current study suggests that usage of semiconductor SrFeTiO3-δ facilitates a high concentration of oxygen vacancies on the surface of SFT, which mainly benefits proton conduction. Moreover, lower grain boundary resistance leads to obtain higher performance. Also, the Schottky junction phenomena are proposed to inhibit the e-conduction and excel the ions transportation. The high performance and ionic conductivity suggest that SFT could be a promising electrolyte for protonic ceramic fuel cells. Peer reviewed

Funding Information: This work was supported Southeast University (SEU) project 3203002003A1 and National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under the grant 51772080 and 11604088 . Jiangsu Provincial Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent program Project No. JSSCRC2021491 . Industry-University-Research Cooperation Project of Jiangsu Province in China , Grant No. BY2021057 . Dr. Asghar thanks the Hubei Talent 100 program and Academy of Finland ( 13329016 , 13322738 ) for their financial support. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors Electrolytes with high-proton conduction and low activation energy are attractive for reducing the high operating temperature of solid-oxide fuel cells to less than <600 °C. In this work, we have fabricated semiconducting electrolyte SrFeTiO3-δ (SFT) material exhibiting high ionic conduction and exceptionally high protonic conduction at low operating temperature but with low electronic conduction to evade the short-circuiting issue. The prepared fuel cell device exhibited high open-circuit voltage (OCV) and a high-power output of 534 mW/cm2, of which 474 mW/cm2 could be for sure be related to the protonic part. The current study suggests that usage of semiconductor SrFeTiO3-δ facilitates a high concentration of oxygen vacancies on the surface of SFT, which mainly benefits proton conduction. Moreover, lower grain boundary resistance leads to obtain higher performance. Also, the Schottky junction phenomena are proposed to inhibit the e-conduction and excel the ions transportation. The high performance and ionic conductivity suggest that SFT could be a promising electrolyte for protonic ceramic fuel cells. Peer reviewed

Abstract Introducing multiple-ionic transport through a semiconductor-electrolyte is a promising approach to realize the low-temperature operation of SOFCs. Herein, we designed and synthesized a single-phase Ce-doped BaCo0.2Fe0.3-xTm0.1Zr0.3Y0.1O3-δ semiconductor-electrolyte possessing triple-charge (H+/O2−/e−) conduction ability. Two different compositions are synthesized: BaCo0.2Fe0.3-xCexTm0.1Zr0.3Y0.1O3-δ [x = 0.1–0.2]. The 20% doped Ce composition exhibits an outstanding oxide-ion and protonic conductivity of 0.193 S cm−1 and 0.09 S cm−1 at 530 °C and the fuel cell utilizing BaCo0.2Fe0.2Ce0.2Tm0.1Zr0.3Y0.1O3-δ as an electrolyte yields an excellent power density of 873 mW cm−2 at 530 °C . Moreover, the fuel cell performed reasonably well (383 mW cm−2) even at a low temperature of 380 °C . Furthermore, the 10% Ce-doped utilized in fuel cell device illustrates lower performance (661 mW cm−2 at 530 °C and 260 mW cm−2 at 380 °C ). Successful doping of Ce supports the formation of oxygen-vacancies at the B-site of perovskite and adjusting the ratio of Fe in the compositions. Moreover, the presence of Tm also assist in the creation of oxygen vacancies. Furthermore, the boosting of electrochemical performance and ionic conductivity of applied materials are enlightened by tuning the energy-band structure via employing the UPS and UV–Vis. The physical characterizations and verification of dual-ions (H+/O2−) in the semiconductor materials are performed via different electrochemical, spectroscopic, and microscopic techniques. A systematic study revealed triple charge conduction in this promising material, which helps in boosting the electrochemical performance of the LT-SOFC.

Abstract Introducing multiple-ionic transport through a semiconductor-electrolyte is a promising approach to realize the low-temperature operation of SOFCs. Herein, we designed and synthesized a single-phase Ce-doped BaCo0.2Fe0.3-xTm0.1Zr0.3Y0.1O3-δ semiconductor-electrolyte possessing triple-charge (H+/O2−/e−) conduction ability. Two different compositions are synthesized: BaCo0.2Fe0.3-xCexTm0.1Zr0.3Y0.1O3-δ [x = 0.1–0.2]. The 20% doped Ce composition exhibits an outstanding oxide-ion and protonic conductivity of 0.193 S cm−1 and 0.09 S cm−1 at 530 °C and the fuel cell utilizing BaCo0.2Fe0.2Ce0.2Tm0.1Zr0.3Y0.1O3-δ as an electrolyte yields an excellent power density of 873 mW cm−2 at 530 °C . Moreover, the fuel cell performed reasonably well (383 mW cm−2) even at a low temperature of 380 °C . Furthermore, the 10% Ce-doped utilized in fuel cell device illustrates lower performance (661 mW cm−2 at 530 °C and 260 mW cm−2 at 380 °C ). Successful doping of Ce supports the formation of oxygen-vacancies at the B-site of perovskite and adjusting the ratio of Fe in the compositions. Moreover, the presence of Tm also assist in the creation of oxygen vacancies. Furthermore, the boosting of electrochemical performance and ionic conductivity of applied materials are enlightened by tuning the energy-band structure via employing the UPS and UV–Vis. The physical characterizations and verification of dual-ions (H+/O2−) in the semiconductor materials are performed via different electrochemical, spectroscopic, and microscopic techniques. A systematic study revealed triple charge conduction in this promising material, which helps in boosting the electrochemical performance of the LT-SOFC.

The fuel cell's three layers-anode/electrolyte/cathode-convert fuel's chemical energy into electricity. Electrolyte membranes determine fuel cell types. Solid-state and ceramic electrolyte SOFC/PCFC and polymer based PEMFC fuel cells dominate fuel cell research. We present a new fuel cell concept using next-generation ceramic nanocomposites made of semiconductor-ionic material combinations. A built-in electric field driving mechanism boosts ionic (O2- or H+ or both) conductivity in these materials. In a fuel cell device, non-doped ceria or its heterostructure might attain 1 Wcm-2 power density. We reviewed promising functional nanocomposites for that range. Ceria-based and multifunctional semiconductor-ionic electrolytes will be highlighted. Owing to their simplicity and abundant resources, these materials might be used to make fuel cells cheaper and more accessible.