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Tailoring Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6−δ with Sc as a new single-phase cathode for proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells

Sc掺杂的Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6−δ作为质子导体固体氧化物燃料电池的新型单相阴极

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Abstract

Sc-doped Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6−δ (SFMSc) was successfully synthesized by partially substituting Mo in Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6−δ* (SFM) with Sc, resulting in a higher proton diffusion rate in the resultant SFMSc sample. Theoretical calculations showed that doping Sc into SFM lowered the oxygen vacancy formation energy, reduced the energy barrier for proton migration in the oxide, and increased the catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction. Next, a proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cell (H-SOFC) with a single-phase SFMSc cathode demonstrated significantly higher cell performance than that of cell based on an Sc-free SFM cathode, achieving 1258 mW cm−2 at 700°C. The performance also outperformed that of many other H-SOFCs based on single-phase cobalt-free cathodes. Furthermore, no trade-off between fuel cell performance and material stability was observed. The SFMSc material demonstrated good stability in both the CO2-containing atmosphere and the fuel cell application. The combination of high performance and outstanding stability suggests that SFMSc is an excellent cathode material for H-SOFCs.

摘要

本文利用Sc元素部分取代Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6−δ (SFM) 中的Mo, 成功制备了具有高质子扩散速率的新型Sc掺杂SFM (SFMSc)材料. 理论计算表明, 将Sc掺杂到SFM中可以降低材料的氧空位形成能, 降低氧化物中质子迁移的能垒, 并提高材料氧还原反应的催化活性. 使用单相SFMSc阴极的质子导体固体氧化物燃料电池(H-SOFC)比使用不含Sc的SFM单相阴极电池具有更高的电池性能, 其在700°C时的性能达到1258 mW cm−2. 该性能也超过了许多其他使用单相无钴阴极的H-SOFC. 此外, 材料良好的电化学性能并没有以牺牲其稳定性为代价. SFMSc材料在含CO2 的气氛中以及在燃料电池工作条件下都表现出良好的稳定性. 高输出性能和良好的稳定性, 使SFMSc成为一种有潜力的高效的H-SOFC阴极材料.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51972183) and the Startup Funding for Talents at the University of South China.

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  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Resource Environment and Safety Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, China

    Liling Zhang  (张醴陵), Yanru Yin  (尹燕儒), Yangsen Xu  (许阳森), Shoufu Yu  (于守富) & Lei Bi  (毕磊)

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  1. Liling Zhang  (张醴陵)
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  2. Yanru Yin  (尹燕儒)
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Contributions

Author contributions Zhang L, Yin Y, and Bi L designed the study and analyzed the data. Zhang L, Yin Y, Xu Y, and Yu S performed the experiments. Bi L wrote the manuscript with other co-authors, and all authors discussed the results and provided their approval to the final version.

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Correspondence to Lei Bi  (毕磊).

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Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Supplementary information Supporting data are available in the online version of the paper.

Liling Zhang is a postgraduate student in Prof. Lei Bi’s group at the University of South China. Her research interests focus mostly on the development of new cathode materials for H-SOFCs and the exploration of the influence of microwave sintering on the characteristics of materials and the performance of H-SOFCs.

Yanru Yin was a research assistant in Prof. Lei Bi’s group at the University of South China after she received her master’s degree from Qingdao University. Her research interest is in tailoring the structure and properties of proton-conducting oxides, with the goal of understanding the charge carrier transport mechanism in proton-conducting oxides and then improving the performance of H-SOFCs.

Lei Bi is a full professor at the University of South China and leads a research group that studies H-SOFCs utilizing both first-principles calculations and experimental methodologies. His research interests include the development and optimization of essential materials for H-SOFCs, as well as innovative fuel cell fabrication technologies. Another area of study that he is interested in is the development of new sintering processes for H-SOFC fabrication.

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Zhang, L., Yin, Y., Xu, Y. et al. Tailoring Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6−δ with Sc as a new single-phase cathode for proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells. Sci. China Mater. 65, 1485–1494 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-021-1935-5

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