• The Korean Journal of Ceramics
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.93-96
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• 2001

The Y- or Yb-doped SrZrO$_3$ proton conductors were fabricated using the powders prepared by the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS). The electrical conductivity was evaluated from an a.c. impedance measurements. The conductivity of SrZr$_{0.92}$Yb$_{0.08}$O$_{3-\delta}$ was 1.8$\times$10$^{-3}$ Scm$^{-1}$ at $900^{\circ}C$ in dry air atmosphere and its activation energy was 0.50 eV. The conductivity in wet air was larger, compared with the dry air, and the activaton energy of SrZr$_{0.92}$Yb$_{0.08}$O$_{3-\delta}$ in wet air was 0.40 eV.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.22-32
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• 2008

Because of an emerging importance of clean energy, fuel cells are attract more attention due to their ability to produce high efficient power without any harmful emission. Fuel cells are energy conversion device with directly convert chemical energy into electrical energy by the chemical reactions, which have potential applications in automobile, spacecraft, stationary, industrial and home appliances. Recently there are gaining demand to develop an intermediate temperature fuel cell and available proton conductors at $200{\sim}500^{\circ}C$, which promising operating temperatures range for both material science and energy conversion processes. In this paper, we have reviewed electrochemical properties and current technology of solid state proton conductors. In addition, development of intermediate temperature fuel cell using the perovskite-type solid protonic conductor is also discussed.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.195-199
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• 2011

The effect of copper oxide on migration and interaction of protons in barium zirconate was investigated using density functional theory. One copper atom was substituted for a zirconium atom site, and a proton was added to a $3{\times}3{\times}3$ barium zirconate superstructure. An energy barrier of 0.89 eV for proton migration was the highest among several energy barriers. To investigate the interaction between multiple protons and a copper atom, two protons were added to the superstructure. Various proton positions were determined by the interaction between the two protons and the copper atom.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.474-478
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• 2010

We studied the energy barrier for proton conduction with volume variation in $BaZrO_3$ using a first principles study to investigate an optimum volume for the proton conduction. The volume increase of $BaZrO_3$ was expected to decrease the energy barrier for proton rotation and to increase that for proton transfer, and these trends could be extrapolated when the volume was decreased. However, the energy barriers for the proton transfer with the volume decrease were increased, while all the other energy barriers varied as expected. We could explain this unexpected behavior by the bent Zr-O-Zr structure, when the volume was decreased.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.569-578
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• 2011

The $SiO_2$ membranes for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) are preapared by electrospinning method. It leads to high porosity and surface area of membrane to accommodate the proton conducting materials. The composite membrane was prepared by impregnating of Nafion ionomer into the pores of electrospun $SiO_2$ membranes. The $SiO_2$:heteropolyacid (HPA) nano-particles as a inorganic proton conductor were prepared by microemulsion process and the particles are added to the Nafion ionomer. The characterization of the membranes was confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), and single cell performance test for PEMFC. The Nafion impregnated electrospun $SiO_2$ membrane showed good thermal stability, satisfactory mechanical properties and high proton conductivity. The addition of the $SiO_2$:HPA nano-particle improved proton conductivity of the composite membrane, which allow further extension for operation temperature in low humidity environments. The composite membrane exhibited a promising properties for the application in high temperature PEMFC.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetic Resonance Society
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 2014

In order to obtain information on the structural geometry of $NH_4HSeO_4$ near the phase transition temperature, the spectrum and spin-lattice relaxation time in the rotating frame $T_{1{\rho}}$ for the ammonium and hydrogen-bond protons were investigated through $^1H$ MAS NMR. $T_{1{\rho}}$ for the hydrogen-bond protons abruptly decreased at high temperature and it is associated with the change in the structural geometry in $O-H{\cdots}O$ bonds. This mobility of the hydrogen-bond protons may be the main reason for the high conductivity.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.271-277
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• 2014

To overcome the limitations of the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) due to the high temperature operation, there has been increasing interest in proton conducting fuel cells (PCFCs) for reduction of the operating temperature to the intermediate temperature range. In present work, the perovskite $BaCe_{0.85-x}Zr_xY_{0.15}O_{3-\delta}$ (BCZY, x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7) were synthesized via solid state reaction (SSR) and adopted as an electrolyte materials for PCFCs. Powder characteristics were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area analysis. Single phase BCZY were obtained in all compositions, and chemical stability was improved with increasing Zr content. Anode-supported cell with $Ni-BaCe_{0.55}Z_{0.3}Y_{0.15}O_{3-\delta}$ (BCZY3) anode, BCZY3 electrolyte and BCZY3-$Ba_{0.5}Sr_{0.5}Co_{0.8}Fe_{0.2}O_{3-\delta}$ (BSCF) composite cathode was fabricated and electrochemically characterized. Open-circuit voltage (OCV) was 1.05 V, and peak power density of 370 ($mW/cm^2$) was achieved at $650^{\circ}C$.

• The Korean Journal of Ceramics
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.213-221
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• 1998

$BaCe_{0.9}Gd_{0.1_O_{2.95}$ powder was synthesized by oxalate coprecipitation method. Precipitate with a stoichimetric ratio of the cations was prepared by adding a mixture of Ba, Ce and Gd nitrate solution to an oxalic acid solution at pH 4. Reaction between the constituent oxides to form a perovskite phase was initiated at $800^{\circ}C$ and a single phase $BaCe_{0.9}Gd_{0.1_O_{2.95}$ powder having good sinterability was obtained after calcination at $1000^{\circ}C$. Sintering green compacts of this powder for 6 h showed a considerable densification to start at $1100^{\circ}C$ and resulted in 93% and 97% relative densities at $1300^{\circ}$ and at $1450^{\circ}C$, respectively. Whereas the power compacts prepared by solid state reaction had lower relative densities, 78% at $1300^{\circ}$and 90% at $1450^{\circ}C$. Fine particles of $CeO_2$ second phase were observed in the surface of the sintered compacts. This was attributed to the evaporation of BaO from the surface that had been exposed during thermal etching.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.71-74
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• 2010

We have investigated protonic conduction in highly dense (>98%) polycrystalline Y-doepd $BaZrO_3$ (BYZ) ceramic with an average grain size of ~85 nm. It is observed that the protonic conductivity across the grain boundaries in this nano-crystallilne BYZ (n-BYZ) is significantly higher than the microcrystalline counterpart. Such a remarkable enhancement in grain boundary conductivity results in high overall conductivity that may allow this chemically stable protonic conductor to serve as a solid electrolyte for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell applications.

• Journal of Hydrogen and New Energy
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.161-167
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• 2011

Proton conductors have attracted considerable attention for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), hydrogen pump, gas sensor, and membrane separators. Doped $SrCeO_3$ exhibits appreciable proton conductivity in hydrogen-containing atmosphere at high temperature. However commercial realization has been hampered due to the reactivity of $SrCeO_3$ with $CO_2$. The chemical stability and proton conductivity are dependent on dopant type. The purpose of this work is to investigate chemical stability of $SrCe_{0.95}Gd_{0.05}O_{3-\alpha}-Ce_{0.9}Gd_{0.1}O_{2-\beta}$ composites in $CO_2$ and $H_2$ gases. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was performed in gaseous $CO_2$ and electrical conductivity of the composites were also measured between 500 and $900^{\circ}C$ in air and $H_2$ atmosphere. $SrCe_{0.95}Gd_{0.05}O_{3-\alpha}-Ce_{0.9}Gd_{0.1}O_{2-\beta}$ composite membranes showed good chemical stability of in $CO_2$ atmosphere and high conductivity at hydrogen condition. The hydrogen permeation of $SrCe_{0.95}Gd_{0.05}O_{3-\alpha}-Ce_{0.9}Gd_{0.1}O_{2-\beta}$ composite membranes was investigated as a function of volumetric content of $SrCe_{0.95}Gd_{0.05}O_{3-\alpha}$. The $SrCe_{0.95}Gd_{0.05}O_{3-\alpha}-Ce_{0.9}Gd_{0.1}O_{2-\beta}$(6:4) membrane with a thickness of 1.0 mm showed the highest hydrogen permeability with the flux reaching of 0.12 $ml/min{\cdot}cm^2$ at $800^{\circ}C$ in 100%$H_2/N_2$ as feed gas.