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Journal of Advanced Ceramics 2022, 11(12): 1988-2000 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40145-022-0662-7
Research Article | Open Access | Issue | Published: 17 November 2022

K-doped BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.2O3−δ as a promising cathode material for protonic ceramic fuel cells

Show Author's Information Peng QIU1,†,  Bo LIU2,†,  Lei WU1,  Huiying QI3,  Baofeng TU3,  Jian LI2,  Lichao JIA2( )
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Center for Fuel Cell Innovation, School of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Lab of Materials Processing and Die & Mound Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China

† Peng Qiu and Bo Liu contributed equally to this work.

Keywords:
protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs), proton transport, proton-conducting cathode, triple-conducting, hydration capability
Cite this article:
QIU P, LIU B, WU L, et al. K-doped BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.2O3−δ as a promising cathode material for protonic ceramic fuel cells. Journal of Advanced Ceramics, 2022, 11(12): 1988-2000. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40145-022-0662-7
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Abstract Full text About this article

Slow oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) involving proton transport remains the limiting factor for electrochemical performance of proton-conducting cathodes. To further reduce the operating temperature of protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs), developing triple-conducting cathodes with excellent electrochemical performance is required. In this study, K-doped BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.2O3−δ (BCFZ442) series were developed and used as the cathodes of the PCFCs, and their crystal structure, conductivity, hydration capability, and electrochemical performance were characterized in detail. Among them, Ba0.9K0.1Co0.4Fe0.4Zr0.2O3−δ (K10) cathode has the best electrochemical performance, which can be attributed to its high electron (e−)/oxygen ion (O2−)/H+ conductivity and proton uptake capacity. At 750 ℃, the polarization resistance of the K10 cathode is only 0.009 Ω·cm2, the peak power density (PPD) of the single cell with the K10 cathode is close to 1 W·cm−2, and there is no significant degradation within 150 h. Excellent electrochemical performance and durability make K10 a promising cathode material for the PCFCs. This work can provide a guidance for further improving the proton transport capability of the triple-conducting oxides, which is of great significance for developing the PCFC cathodes with excellent electrochemical performance.


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About this article

K-doped BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.2O3−δ as a promising cathode material for protonic ceramic fuel cells

Show Author's information Peng QIU1,†, Bo LIU2,†, Lei WU1, Huiying QI3, Baofeng TU3, Jian LI2, Lichao JIA2( )
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China
Center for Fuel Cell Innovation, School of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Lab of Materials Processing and Die & Mound Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China

† Peng Qiu and Bo Liu contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

Slow oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) involving proton transport remains the limiting factor for electrochemical performance of proton-conducting cathodes. To further reduce the operating temperature of protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs), developing triple-conducting cathodes with excellent electrochemical performance is required. In this study, K-doped BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.2O3−δ (BCFZ442) series were developed and used as the cathodes of the PCFCs, and their crystal structure, conductivity, hydration capability, and electrochemical performance were characterized in detail. Among them, Ba0.9K0.1Co0.4Fe0.4Zr0.2O3−δ (K10) cathode has the best electrochemical performance, which can be attributed to its high electron (e−)/oxygen ion (O2−)/H+ conductivity and proton uptake capacity. At 750 ℃, the polarization resistance of the K10 cathode is only 0.009 Ω·cm2, the peak power density (PPD) of the single cell with the K10 cathode is close to 1 W·cm−2, and there is no significant degradation within 150 h. Excellent electrochemical performance and durability make K10 a promising cathode material for the PCFCs. This work can provide a guidance for further improving the proton transport capability of the triple-conducting oxides, which is of great significance for developing the PCFC cathodes with excellent electrochemical performance.

Keywords: protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs), proton transport, proton-conducting cathode, triple-conducting, hydration capability

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Publication history
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Publication history

Received: 01 July 2022
Revised: 05 September 2022
Accepted: 20 September 2022
Published: 17 November 2022
Issue date: December 2022

Copyright

© The Author(s) 2022.

Acknowledgements

We acknowledge for the support by the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFE0124700), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52102279, 52072134, and 51972128), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2021QE283), and Department of Science and Technology of Hubei Province (2021CBA149 and 2021CFA072).

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