Solid oxide fuel cells and membranes

Solid oxide fuel cells consist of solid electrolytes held between metallic or oxide elecU odes. The most successful fuel cell utilizing an oxide electrolyte to date employs Zr02 containing a few mole per cent of yttrium oxide, which operates in tire temperature range 1100-1300 K. Other electrolytes based 

In the fuel cell which has a high oxygen potential at one electrode, the cathode, and a low oxygen potential resulting from the oxidation of hydrocarbons at the anode, the cell functions as an oxygen transfer cell in which the reaction 

Alternative mechanisms which have been proposed which involve die surface oxide ion vacancies such as 

The overall process may be described in reaction kinetics terms as 

A signihcant problem in tire combination of solid electrolytes with oxide electrodes arises from the difference in thermal expansion coefficients of the materials, leading to rupture of tire electrode/electrolyte interface when the fuel cell is, inevitably, subject to temperature cycles. Insufficient experimental data are available for most of tire elecuolytes and the perovskites as a function of temperature and oxygen partial pressure, which determines the stoichiometty of the perovskites, to make a quantitative assessment at the present time, and mostly decisions must be made from direct experiment. However, Steele (loc. cit.) observes that tire electrode Lao.eSro.rCoo.aFeo.sOs-j functions well in combination widr a ceria-gadolinia electrolyte since botlr have closely similar thermal expansion coefficients. 

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