Redesigning Protonic Ceramic Electrochemical Cells to Lower the Operating Temperature

Overview

Journal Sci Adv

Date 2025 Jan 10

PMID 39792665

Authors

Fan Liu

David Diercks

Praveen Kumar

Arim Seong

Mohammed Hussain Abdul Jabbar

Cenk Gumeci

Yoshihisa Furuya

Nilesh Dale

Takanori Oku

Masahiro Usuda

Pejman Kazempoor

Iman Ghamarian

Lin Liu

Liyang Fang

Di Chen

Zixian Wang

Stephen Skinner

Chuancheng Duan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (PCECs) can operate at intermediate temperatures (450° to 600°C) for power generation and hydrogen production. However, the operating temperature is still too high to revolutionize ceramic electrochemical cell technology. Lowering the operating temperature to <450°C will enable a wider material choice and reduce system costs. We present approaches to redesigning PCECs via readily fabricated single-grain-thick, chemically homogeneous, and robust electrolytes and a nano-micro positive electrode. At 450°C, the PCECs achieve a peak power density of 1.6 watt per square centimeter on H fuel, 0.5 watt per square centimeter on NH fuel, and 0.3 watt per square centimeter on CH fuel in fuel cell mode. In steam electrolysis mode, a current density of >0.6 ampere per square centimeter with a Faradaic efficiency of >90% is achievable at 1.4 volt and 400°C. In addition, exceptional durability (>2000 hours) has been demonstrated, with a degradation rate of <0.01 millivolt per 100 hours in fuel cell mode at 400°C.

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