Performance Enhancement of Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9-Supported SOFC by Electrophoretic Formation of Modifying BaCe0.8Sm0.2O3 and Ce0.8Sm0.1Pr0.1O1.9 Layers

Elena Pikalova; Elena Kalinina

doi:10.3390/membranes13050484

Performance Enhancement of Ce_0.8Sm_0.2O_1.9-Supported SOFC by Electrophoretic Formation of Modifying BaCe_0.8Sm_0.2O₃ and Ce_0.8Sm_0.1Pr_0.1O_1.9 Layers

Membranes (Basel). 2023 Apr 29;13(5):484. doi: 10.3390/membranes13050484.

Authors

Elena Pikalova^{1

2}, Elena Kalinina^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Institute of High Temperature Electrochemistry, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg 620137, Russia.
² Department of Environmental Economics, Graduate School of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg 620002, Russia.
³ Laboratory of Complex Electrophysic Investigations, Institute of Electrophysics, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg 620016, Russia.
⁴ Department of Physical and Inorganic Chemistry, Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Ural Federal University, Yekaterinburg 620002, Russia.

Abstract

The strategy to increase the performance of the single solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with a supporting membrane of Ce_0.8Sm_0.2O_1.9 (SDC) electrolyte has been implemented in this study by introducing a thin anode barrier layer of the BaCe_0.8Sm_0.2O₃ + 1 wt% CuO (BCS-CuO) electrolyte and, additionally, a modifying layer of a Ce_0.8Sm_0.1Pr_0.1O_1.9 (PSDC) electrolyte. The method of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is used to form thin electrolyte layers on a dense supporting membrane. The electrical conductivity of the SDC substrate surface is achieved by the synthesis of a conductive polypyrrole sublayer. The kinetic parameters of the EPD process from the PSDC suspension are studied. The volt-ampere characteristics and power output of the obtained SOFC cells with the PSDC modifying layer on the cathode side and the BCS-CuO blocking layer on the anode side (BCS-CuO/SDC/PSDC) and with a BCS-CuO blocking layer on the anode side (BCS-CuO/SDC) and oxide electrodes have been studied. The effect of increasing the power output of the cell with the BCS-CuO/SDC/PSDC electrolyte membrane due to a decrease in the ohmic and polarization resistances of the cell is demonstrated. The approaches developed in this work can be applied to the development of SOFCs with both supporting and thin-film MIEC electrolyte membranes.

Keywords: MIEC electrolyte; barrier layer; co-doped CeO2; doped BaCeO3; electrophoretic deposition; solid oxide fuel cells.

Grants and funding

The study had no external financial support.