Evaluation of the microstructure and the electrochemical properties of Ce0.79Gd0.2-xCaxCu0.01O2−δ electrolytes for IT-SOFCs
摘要
Doped ceria electrolytes are extensively studied and applied in intermediate-low temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC). Ce0.79Gd0.2-xCaxCu0.01O2-δ electrolytes were synthesized by the ultrasonic-assisted sol-gel self combustion sintering method. The experimental results demonstrate that incorporating 1.0 mol% Cu into gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) enables a reduction in sintering temperature by 500 °C, while Ca co-doping effectively increases oxygen vacancy formation, achieving a dense electrolyte with comparable ionic conductivity. Among these, the Ce₀.₇₉Gd₀.₁₅Ca₀.₀₅Cu₀.₀₁O2-δ electrolyte demonstrated the highest conductivity, showing a tenfold increase compared to conventional Ce0.79Gd0.2-xCaxCu0.01O2-δ electrolytes, with a conductivity of 0.054 S·cm⁻¹ at 800 °C and an activation energy of 0.88 eV.