Improvement of fuel cell electrolytes by strain engineering

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K18235
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Inorganic materials/Physical properties
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Harrington George 九州大学, 次世代燃料電池産学連携研究センター, 助教 (20753718)
• Research Collaborator: Tuller Harry MIT, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Professor ; Perry Nicola Kyushu University, Assistant Professor ; Sun Lixin MIT, Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, PhD Student ; Yildiz Bilge MIT, Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, Professor
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: SOFCs / Thin films / Strain / Ceramic / Ionic Conductors

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The interplay of defect-defect interaction and strain on the ionic conductivity were investigated in rare-earth substituted ceria. By thermally annealing high quality epitaxial films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition, the strain was systematically varied, whilst avoiding any influence from interfacial or grain boundary effects. The work focused upon three different substituents, La, Gd, and Yb, whereby the defect-association in rare earth substituted ceria could be varied. It was shown that the activation energy increased with increasing in-plane biaxial strain. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the change in the activation energy for Yb-substituted CeO2 is around three times that for Gd or La substitutions for the same applied strain, indicating the important role played by defect association.

Free Research Field

Materials Science and Engineering