Improved ceria-carbonate composite electrolytes

It has been successfully demonstrated that the fuel cells using the ceria-carbonate composite as electrolytes have achieved excellent performances of 200-1150 W/cm(2) at 300-600 degrees C. Previously it was reported these ceria-carbonate composite electrolytes have been prepared with two-step processes: step 1, prepare ion-doped ceria which was prepared usually through the wet-chemical co-precipitation process; step 2, mixing the doped ceria with carbonates in various compositions. We first report here to prepare the SDC-carbonate composites within one-step chemical co-precipitation process, i.e. mixing carbonates and preparing the SDC in the same process. The one-step process has provided a number of advantages: (i) to reduce the involved preparation processes to enhance the production, to make the produced materials in good quality control, more homogenous composites microstructure; (ii) as results, these composites showed also different microstructures and electrical properties. It has significantly improved the ceria-carbonate conductivities and cause the superionic conduction at much lower temperatures; (iii) to reduce manufacturing costs also. (C) 2009 Professor T. Nejat Veziroglu. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.