Solid oxide fuel cells high-temperature environment

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) involve structures composed of multiple ceramic layers, or interleaved layers of ceramic membranes and metal interconnects. To eliminate premature mixing of fuel and air gases or leaking of these gases from interior regions of the structure, the interfaces of adjacent layers are sealed with a glass or ceramic seal. These seals must withstand the high-temperature environment of the SOFC over its lifetime. Therefore these materials must be thermally matched with the adjacent layers to minimize transient stress risers and eliminate the potential for consequent seal failure. 

Ceria doped with heterovalent cations, such as alkaline earth and rare earth ions, has been considered one of the most promising electrolyte materials for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells. It was found that doped ceria materials exhibit relatively high ionic conductivity under nonreducing conditions and relatively lower temperatures in comparison to that of YSZ electrolyte. Among the various dopants studied, Gd " and singly doped Sm ceria have been reported to have a high conductivity [8] and to be relatively stable in a reducing environment [49]. 

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