High-performing and stable semiconductor yttrium-doped gadolinium electrolyte for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Junjiao Li; Muhammad Yousaf; Muhammad Akbar; Asma Noor; Hu Enyi; M A K Yousaf Shah; Qadeer Akbar Sial; Naveed Mushtaq; Yuzheng Lu

doi:10.1039/d2cc06904k

High-performing and stable semiconductor yttrium-doped gadolinium electrolyte for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Chem Commun (Camb). 2023 May 18;59(41):6223-6226. doi: 10.1039/d2cc06904k.

Authors

Junjiao Li¹, Muhammad Yousaf², Muhammad Akbar³, Asma Noor⁴, Hu Enyi², M A K Yousaf Shah², Qadeer Akbar Sial⁵, Naveed Mushtaq², Yuzheng Lu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Electronic and Engineering, Nanjing Vocational Institute of Mechatronic Technology, Nanjing 211306, P. R. China.
² Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Solar Energy Science and Technology/Energy Storage Joint Research Center, School of Energy and Environment, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Ferro and Piezoelectric Materials and Devices of Hubei Province, Faculty of Physics and Electronic Science, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430062, P. R. China.
⁴ Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Laser Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Micro/Nano Optomechatronics Engineering, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
⁵ Department of Physics, Ajou University Swaan, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, Korea.
⁶ College of Electronic and Engineering, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing 211171, P. R. China.

PMID: 37129587
DOI: 10.1039/d2cc06904k

Abstract

High-performing electrolytes at low operating temperatures have become an inevitable trend in the development of low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (LT-SOFCs). Such electrolytes have drawn significant attention due to their appeal for high performance. Herein, we propose a new material by doping Y³⁺ into Gd₂O₃ for LT-SOFC electrolyte use. The prepared material was characterized in terms of crystal structure, surface, and interface properties, followed by its application in LT-SOFCs. YDG delivered promising SOFC performance with a power density of 1046 mW cm^-2 at 550 °C along with high ionic conductivity of 0.19 S cm^-1. Moreover, impedance spectra revealed that YDG exhibited the least ohmic resistance of 0.06-0.09 Ω cm² at 550-460 °C. Furthermore, stable operation for 60 h demonstrated the chemical stability of the material in reduced temperature environments. Density function theory was also applied to analyze the electronic band structure and density of states of the synthesized sample. Our findings thus certify that YDG as a high-performing electrolyte at low operating temperatures.