Conductive vias on ceramic substrate

In a ceramic electrochemical reactor oxygen activation is physically separate from substrate activation. Activation of dioxygen occurs at a cathodic surface, oxygen traverses the electrolyte as oxide ions, the ions react with a substrate on the anodic face, and the electrons return to complete the circuit. Two types of electrochemical membrane reactors are under study which differ in the route by which the electrons travel from anode to cathode these are illustrated schematically in Figure 1. In the shorted fuel cell reactor the electrons return through an external circuit, from which electrical power can be extracted. Electroceramic membranes allow the electrons to make their way from anode to cathode via electrically conductive phases within the membrane proper. 

---