Electrochemical Investigations of BaCe 0.7-x Sm x Zr 0.2 Y 0.1 O 3-δ Sintered at a Low Sintering Temperature as a Perovskite Electrolyte for IT-SOFCs

Muneeb Irshad, Mehak Khalid, Muhammad Rafique, Asif Nadeem Tabish, Ahmad Shakeel, Khurram Siraj, Abdul Ghaffar, Rizwan Raza, Muhammad Ahsan, Quar tul Ain and Qurat ul Ain
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Muneeb Irshad: Department of Physics, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Mehak Khalid: Department of Physics, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Muhammad Rafique: Department of Physics, University of Sahiwal, Sahiwal 57000, Pakistan
Asif Nadeem Tabish: Department of Chemical Engineering, New Campus, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore 39021, Pakistan
Ahmad Shakeel: Department of Chemical Engineering, New Campus, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore 39021, Pakistan
Khurram Siraj: Department of Physics, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Abdul Ghaffar: Department of Physics, Government College University, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Rizwan Raza: Clean Energy Research Lab (CERL), Department of Physics, Lahore Campus, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
Muhammad Ahsan: Department of Thermal Power and Energy Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Quar tul Ain: Department of Physics, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore 54890, Pakistan
Qurat ul Ain: Department of Physics, University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore 54890, Pakistan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 22, 1-15

Abstract: Perovskite materials have gained a lot of interest in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) applications owing to their exceptional properties; however, ideal perovskites exhibit proton conduction due to availability of low oxygen vacancies, which limit their application as SOFC electrolytes. In the current project, Sm was doped at the B-site of a BaCe 0.7-x Sm x Zr 0.2 Y 0.1 O 3-δ perovskite electrolyte for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). BaCe 0.7-x Sm x Zr 0.2 Y 0.1 O 3-δ electrolytes were synthesized through a cost-effective coprecipitation method and were sintered at a low sintering temperature. The effects of samarium (Sm) doping on the electrochemical performance of BaCe 0.7-x Sm x Zr 0.2 Y 0.1 O 3-δ were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that the BaCe 0.7-x Sm x Zr 0.2 Y 0.1 O 3-δ electrolyte material retained the perovskite structure. The secondary phase of Sm 2 O 3 was observed for BaCe 0.4 Sm 0.3 Zr 0.2 Y 0.1 O 3-δ . Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) imaging displayed the dense microstructure for all the compositions, while prominent crystal growth was observed for composition x = 0.3. The formation of the perovskite structure and the presence of the hydroxyl groups of metal oxides for all the compositions were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). An increased symmetrical disturbance was also observed for the increased doping ratio of the Sm. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of all the compositions showed no major weight loss in the SOFC operating temperature range. It was also noted that the conductivity of BaCe 0.7-x Sm x Zr 0.2 Y 0.1 O 3-δ gradually decreased with the increased contents of the Sm metal. The maximum power density of 390 mW cm −2 , and an open-circuit voltage (OCV) of 1.0 V at 600 °C, were obtained, showing that BaCe 0.7-x Sm x Zr 0.2 Y 0.1 O 3-δ , synthesized by a cost-effective method and sintered at a low temperature, can be used as a proton-conducting electrolyte for IT-SOFCs.

Keywords: perovskite; electrolyte; coprecipitation; composite; SOFC (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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