DEVELOPMENT OF NEW MATERIALS FOR FUEL CELL APPLICATIONS

In the area of chemical energy conversion, our research mainly focuses on getting over the technological barriers which limit the development of high and intermediate temperature fuel cells.A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that continuously converts the chemical energy of externally supplied fuel and oxidant (e.g  H₂ / O₂); directly into electricity and heat via theelectrolyte which is a good ion conductor and an electronic insulator. The flow of electrons in the external circuit is provided by the electrochemical reactions which take place on the electrodes separated by the electrolyte.

Our research deals with "high temperature" (~700°C) Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) and "intermediate temperature" (400°C) Proton Ceramic Fuel Cells (PCFC) for which the electrolyte is either a O^2- or a H⁺ ion conductor in the form of a ceramic oxide material . Due to problems associated with thermal cycling and performance degradation that results from the reactivity of conventional electrolyte materials, a major objective is the development of new materials that could meet the challenge of operating at lower temperature in SOFCs and of an increased stability under CO₂ containing atmospheres in PCFC.

Our research deals with "high temperature" (~700°C) Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) and "intermediate temperature" (400°C) Proton Ceramic Fuel Cells (PCFC) for which the electrolyte is either a O^2- or a H⁺ ion conductor in the form of a ceramic oxide material . Due to problems associated with thermal cycling and performance degradation that results from the reactivity of conventional electrolyte materials, a major objective is the development of new materials that could meet the challenge of operating at lower temperature in SOFCs and of an increased stability - under CO₂ containing atmospheres in PCFC.

The direct use of natural gas is another major technological objective of research in fuel cells. Part of our work is dedicated to the development of an anode capable of operating directly in natural gas without suffering from carbon deposition. In order to demonstrate the possible application of our new materials (electrolyte and anode) in SOFC and PCFC, we are designing and testing button cells under different operating conditions (T° and gas).
The unifying theme in this research is the synthesis of novel solid oxide materials, which can find applications in fuel cells but also in high temperature electrolysis. This research combines both fundamental (electrolyte material) and applied aspects (anode material, cell design and test) of solid state chemistry.

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