Ionic conductivity improvement

Figure 20 History of ionic conductivity improvement of SPE. (Reprinted from Ref. 220. 2000, with permission from Elsevier)...

Polymeric ionic conductors. One of the most unexpected developments in recent decades in the whole domain of electrochemistry has been the invention of and gradual improvements in ionically conducting polymeric membranes, to the... 

The physical properties of ionic liquids can often be considerably improved through the judicious addition of co-solvents [55-58]. Flowever, surprisingly, this approach has been relatively underutilized. Flussey and co-workers investigated the effect of co-solvents on the physical properties of [EMIM]C1/A1C13 ionic liquids [55, 56]. They found significant increases in ionic conductivity upon the addition of a variety of co-solvents. Figure 3.6-5 displays representative data from this work. The magnitude of the conductivity increase depends both on the type and amount of the co-solvent [55, 56]. 

However, in the case of the perovskite even the application of sintering temperatures as high as 1200 °C did not result in a higher overall ionic conductivity. Since the total ionic conductivity is two orders of magnitude lower than the bulk conductivity in polycrystalline Li0 34La05] Ti 0294, an improvement by way of the preparation route is necessary rather than changes in the lattice by the addition of dopants,... 

The ionic conductivity of the MEEP/metal salt systems was improved by adding a-Al203 particles into the complexes. Chen-Yang [603] obtained a conductivity 0=9.7x10" S cm" for the composite polymer complex MEEP/Li-CIO4/2.5 wt% AI2O3. The cation transport number was in this case 0.77. 

All the above derivations are based on the assumption of a single ionic species moving through the oxide. The implications of such an approach have been considered most thoroughly by Dignam.47 The present state of the art in the field of ionic conduction modeling needs improvement. The theory should include the following ... 

Ni-cermet type anodes have been improved by substituting the YSZ by ceria, gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) and samarium-doped ceria (SDC). Ceria seems to increase the catalytic activity of the cermet for hydrogen oxidation, while SDC and GDC improve the ionic conductivity of the anode. Ni-ceria cermets are considered the main candidate for low-temperature SOFC [74],... 

The membranes used in the present cells are expensive and available only in limited ranges of thickness and specific ionic conductivity. There is a need to lower the cost of the present membranes and to investigate lower cost membranes that exhibit low resistivity. This is particularly important for transportation applications where high current density operation is needed. Cheaper membranes promote lower cost PEFCs and thinner membranes with lower resistivities could contribute to power density improvement (29). It is estimated that the cost of current membranes could fall (by one order of magnitude) if the market increased significantly (by two orders of magnitude) (22). 

The improvement in cell performance at higher pressure and high current density can be attributed to a lower diffusion polarization at the cathode and an increase in the reversible cell potential. In addition, pressurization decreases activation polarization at the cathode because of the increased oxygen and water partial pressures. If the partial pressure of water is allowed to increase, a lower acid concentration will result. This will increase ionic conductivity and bring about a higher exchange current density. The net outcome is a reduction in ohmic losses. It was reported (33) that an increase in cell pressure (100% H3PO4, 169°C (336°F)) from 1 to 4.4 atm (14.7 to 64.7 psia) produces a reduction in acid concentration to 97%, and a decrease of about 0.001 ohm in the resistance of a small six cell stack (350 cm electrode area). 

Cell Voltage - For an identical stack the overall cell voltage will be lower as temperature decreases due to the decreased kinetics, diffusion, and ionic conductivity versus the improved electrical conductivity which typically does not dominate the cell polarizations. This is partially but not fully offset by the increased theoretical open circuit voltage of the electrochemical reaction at the lower temperature. 

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