Electrochemical performance of Li13.9Sr0.1Zn(GeO4)4 prepared by sol-gel for solid oxide fuel cell electrolyte
By Lian, Zhixiang; Chen, Feng; Song, Xingbao; Liao, Dongliang; Peng, Kaiping
Published in Journal of Alloys and Compounds
2021
Abstract
In this study, we synthesize Li13.9Sr0.1Zn(GeO4)4 (LSZG) electrolyte materials using the sol-gel method. The x-ray powder diffraction results indicate that the pure LSZG material was successfully obtained using the sol-gel method. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results show that, unlike LSZG-SS (solid-state) powder, LSZG-SG (sol-gel) powder has smaller size, which promotes sintering and reduces the sintering temperature. In addition, it is verified that LSZG electrolyte can conduct Li+/H+ ion exchange in a humid H+ environment. Unlike the LSZG-SS sample, the LSZG-SG electrolyte can promote the Li+/H+ ion exchange and has a higher proton conductivity. The BaZr0.4Ce0.4Y0.1Ni0.1O3 barrier layer coated on the surface of LSZG pellets can inhibit lithium-ion conduction, making the protons the only mobile ion. The proton conductivity of LSZG-SG electrolyte with a barrier layer is approximately 0.035 S/cm at 600 °C. Furthermore, solid oxide fuel cells based on LSZG-SG electrolyte has an open-circuit voltage of 1.0 V and a maximum power density of 17 mW cm-2 at 600 °C.