Ammonia Fuel Proton Conductor Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Research

As a novel power technology, feul cells have many excellences, and are so called "green power of 21st century". In various fuel cells, solid sxide fuel cells(SOFCs) are of high energy efficiency and extensive fuel flexibility, and are in preferential development among all kinds of fuel cells.Untill now, the more developed SOFCs technologies were all based on oxygen-ion conductors, such like stabilized ZrO₂(YSZ), doped CeO₂ (DCO), etc. But, compared with oxygen-ion conductors, proton conductor has it's own specialty. SOFC based on proton conductors produce water vapor at the cathode side, which helps to improve the EMF and the conversion efficiency of SOFCs system, and also, proton conductors result in lower conducting activation energies than those of oxygen-ion conductors. But compared with oxygen-ion conductors, proton conductors are less concerned. In addition, the now extensively used fuels of SOFCs are hydrogen and hydrocarbons, but the former is too expensive to be used commercially, and the latter will cause a anode-choking problem.According to the above problems, we concentrate on the unconventional electrolytes and fuels. First of all, the technical principal and key materials of SOFCs are summarized, and some key mechanisms are discussed (Chapter 1 and 2). Secondly, in order to decrease the sintering temperature and increase fuel cell output, the preparation, expression and performance of SOFCs based on body and thin film proton conductors are researched (Chapter 3). Thirdly, ammonia are concerned to substrate hydrogen and hydrocarbons as the fuel of SOFCs, the performance of SOFCs based on proton or oxygen-ion conductors fuelled by ammonia are tested (Chapter 4). Fourthly, in order to decrease the operating temperature of SOFCs to lower level (150-500℃), composite salts are primarily considered as the electrolyte of SOFCs used below 500℃.Proton conducting SOFCs usually use doped BaCeO₃ as electrolyte, the common construction of cells are electrolyte support. The key problem of this kind of SOFCs is the high sintering temperatures (above 1600℃), which greatly increases the cost. A...