Zhigang Zhu

Innovative solid carbonate-ceria composite electrolyte fuel cells

Abstract An innovative solid carbonate–oxide composite and related fuel cell (FC) technology is reported. It was discovered that solid carbonate–ceria composite (SCC) electrolytes were highly conductive with the material conductivity level varying from 0.001 to 0.2 S cm −1 between 400 and 600 °C, and related FCs reached a power density between 200 and 600 mW cm −2 at a current density of 300– 1200 mA cm −2 in the same temperature region. The SCCs were discovered to possess both oxide-ion (originating from the ceria phase) and proton (from the carbonate phase) conduction. Being an all-solid ceramic FC, the SCC can effectively reduce the material corrosion problem that is serious for the molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs). On the other hand, the innovative FC technology based on the SCC electrolytes developed in this work is similar to solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and different from the MCFCs based on their ionic transport and FC processes, which facilitates a development of new type of advanced FC technology.

A new energy conversion technology joining electrochemical and physical principles

We report a new energy conversion technology joining electrochemical and physical principles. This technology can realize the fuel cell function but built on a different scientific principle. The d ...

Cost-effective yttrium doped ceria-based composite ceramic materials for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell applications

Cost-effective yttrium doped ceria-based composite ceramic materials for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell applications

Direct biofuel low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

A low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell system was developed to use bioethanol and glycerol as fuels directly. This system achieved a maximum power density of 215 mW cm−2 by using glycerol at 580 °C and produced a great impact on sustainable energy and the environment.

Compatible cathode materials for high performance low temperature (300-600°C) solid oxide fuel cells

We have made extensive efforts to develop various compatible electrode materials for the ceria-based composite (CBC) electrolytes, which have been, reported as most advanced LTSOFC electrolyte materials (Zhu, 2003). The electrode materials we have investigated can be classified as four categories: i) LSCCF (LaSrCoCaFeO) and BSCF perovskite oxides applied for our CBC electrolyte LTSOFCs; ii) LFN (LaFeO-based oxides, e.g. LaFe0.8 Ni0.2 O3 ) perovskite oxides; iii) lithiated oxides: e.g. LiNiOx, LiVOx or LiCuOx are typical cathode examples for the CBC LTSOFCs; iv) other mixed oxide systems, most common in a mixture of two-oxide phases, such CuOx-NiOx, CuO-ZnO etc. systems with or without lithiation are developed for the CBC systems, especially for direct alcohol LTSOFCs. These cathode materials used for the CBC electrolyte LTSOFCs have demonstrated excellent performances at 300–600°C, e.g. 1000 mWcm−2 was achieved at 580°C. The LTSOFCs can be operated with a wide range of fuels, e.g. hydrogen, methanol, ethanol etc with great potential for applications.Copyright

Development of Low Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Based on innovative ceria-based composite (CBC) material advantages we have made strong efforts to make technical developments on scaling up material production, fabrication technologies on large cells and stack operated at low temperatures (300 to 600°C). Next generation materials for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have been developed based on abundant natural resources of the industrial grade mixed rare-earth carbonates named as LCP. Here we show the LCP-based materials used as functional electrolytes to achieve excellent fuel cell performances, 300–800 mWcm2 for low temperatures, exhibiting a great availability for industrialization and commercialization .Copyright