PEROVSKITE SOLID ELECTROLYTES FOR INTERMEDIATE TEMPERATURE FUEL CELLS

THIS PROPOSED PROGRAM WILL BE DIRECTED TOWARDS DEVELOPING THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL INSIGHT NECESSARY FOR EVALUATING THE UTILITY OF SUITABLY DOPED PEROVSKITES AS ANION CONDUCTING SOLID ELECTROLYTES FOR APPLICATION IN HYDROGEN/OXYGEN SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS (SOFCS) OPERATING AT TEMPERATURES CONSIDERABLY LOWER THAN CURRENT SOFC TECHNOLOGY. THESE PEROVSKITE BASED SOLID ELECTROLYTES WERE RECENTLY SELECTED FROM RATIONALE DEVELOPED AT ELTRON RESEARCH INC. (ERI) WHICH HAS SHOWN A CLEAR CORRELATION BETWEEN THE ACTIVATION ENERGY ( E) FOR IONIC CONDUCTION IN PEROVSKITE LATTICE AND THE FREE VOLUME PRESENTIN THE PEROVSKITE UNIT CELL CRYSTAL LATTICE AS DEFINED BY UNIT CELL VOLUME SUBTRACTED BY THE IONIC VOLUME OF CONSTITUENT IONS. THE EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION WILL RESULT IN FABRICATION AND PRELIMINARY ELECTROCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOFCS INCORPORATING THESE ADVANCED SOLIDELECTROLYTES AND POSSESSING THE GENERAL CONFIGURATION: H2, NI/AB03/LA0.7SR0.3MN03, 02 THESE FUEL CELLS WILL BE EXPECTED TO OPERATE AT TEMPERATURES OF 600 DEGREES CENTIGRADE AND BELOW AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER E FOR IONICCONDUCTION AFFORDED, COMPARED TO CURRENTLY USED YTTRIA STABILIZED ZIRCONIA (YSZ) BASED SOLID ELECTROLYTES.