An Easily Sintered, Chemically Stable, Barium Zirconate-Based Proton Conductor for High-Performance Proton-Conducting Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Yttrium and indium co-doped barium zirconate is investigated to develop a chemically stable and sintering active proton conductor for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). BaZr0.8Y0.2-xInxO3- possesses a pure cubic perovskite structure. The sintering activity of BaZr0.8Y0.2-xInxO3- increases significantly with In concentration. BaZr0.8Y0.15In0.05O3- (BZYI5) exhibits the highest total electrical conductivity among the sintered oxides. BZYI5 also retains high chemical stability against CO2, vapor, and reduction of H-2. The good sintering activity, high conductivity, and chemical stability of BZYI5 facilitate the fabrication of durable SOFCs based on a highly conductive BZYI5 electrolyte film by cost-effective ceramic processes. Fully dense BZYI5 electrolyte film is successfully prepared on the anode substrate by a facile drop-coating technique followed by co-firing at 1400 degrees C for 5 h in air. The BZYI5 film exhibits one of the highest conductivity among the BaZrO3-based electrolyte films with various sintering aids. BZYI5-based single cells output very encouraging and by far the highest peak power density for BaZrO3-based proton-conducting SOFCs, reaching as high as 379 mW cm(-2) at 700 degrees C. The results demonstrate that Y and In co-doping is an effective strategy for exploring sintering active and chemically stable BaZrO3-based proton conductors for high performance proton-conducting SOFCs.