Abstract
Sr-doped LaMnO3 (LSM) which is the first-generation cathode for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) has been tailored with Zn ions, aiming to achieve improved protonation ability for proton-conducting SOFCs (H-SOFCs). The new Sr and Zn co-doped LaMnO3 (LSMZ) can be successfully synthesized. The first-principle studies indicate that the LSMZ improves the protonation of LSM and decreases the barriers for oxygen vacancy formation, leading to high performance of the LSMZ cathode-based cells. The proposed LSMZ cell shows the highest fuel cell performance among ever reported LSM-based H-SOFCs. In addition, the superior fuel cell performance does not impair its stability. LSMZ is stable against CO2, as demonstrated by both in-situ CO2 corrosion tests and the first-principles calculations, leading to good long-term stability of the cell. The Zn-doping strategy for the traditional LSM cathode with high performance and good stability brings back the LSM cathode to intermediate temperatures and paves a new way for the research on the LSM-based materials as cathodes for SOFCs.
摘要
Sr掺杂的LaMnO3 (LSM)是固体氧化物燃料电池(SOFC)的第一 代阴极. 为了提高其质子化能力从而应用于质子导体SOFC(H-SOFC), 本研究成功合成了Zn和Sr共掺杂的LaMnO3材料(LSMZ), 即通过Zn离 子调节LSM的性能. 第一性原理研究表明, LSMZ提高了材料的质子化 能力, 而且降低了材料中氧空位的形成能, 使LSMZ在电池应用中展现 出较高的性能, 是文献报道同类阴极在H-SOFC中的最大值. 此外, 良好 的燃料电池性能并没有影响材料的稳定性. 原位CO2腐蚀测试和第一性 原理计算表明LSMZ材料对于CO2具有高稳定性, 使LSMZ电池在工作 状态下具有较好的长期稳定性. Zn掺杂策略将传统LSM阴极的高稳定 性与高性能相结合, 将LSM阴极带回到中温工作区间.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51972183 and 51972128) and the Startup Funding for Talents at the University of South China.
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Wu S and Bi L designed this study. Wu S and Li X performed the experiments. Xu X performed the DFT calculations and analyzed the data. Bi L wrote the manuscript with other co-authors and all authors discussed the results and provided their approval to the final version.
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Shuai Wu is a postgraduate student, studying in the group of Professor Lei Bi. His research interest is the utilization of the doping strategy to tailor cathode materials for H-SOFCs with enhanced performance. Designing new cathode materials with protonation ability is now his major research topic.
Xi Xu was a master student in the group of Professor Lei Bi and now she is a PhD student at Imperial College London and doing her research in the laboratory of Professor Stephen Skinner from October 2020. Her current research topic is the development of advanced cathode materials for H-SOFCs, which covers both the experimental part and the theoretical simulation part using density functional theory (DFT).
Xiaomei Li is a postgraduate student in the group of Professor Lei Bi. After joining the group, she started the work of developing high-performing H-SOFCs, by microstructure optimizations and design of new materials. She is also interested in understanding the electrode working mechanisms for H-SOFCs.
Lei Bi is now a full professor at the University of South China, leading a group working on H-SOFCs. After obtaining his PhD degree from the University of Science and Technology of China, he spent six years working at the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan as a postdoc and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia as a research scientist. His research interests are the development of H-SOFCs, using both the first-principles calculation method and experimental approaches.
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High performance proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells using the first-generation Sr-doped LaMnO3 cathode tailored with Zn ions
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Wu, S., Xu, X., Li, X. et al. High-performance proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells using the first-generation Sr-doped LaMnO3 cathode tailored with Zn ions. Sci. China Mater. 65, 675–682 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-021-1821-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-021-1821-4