SGER: Solid Acid Fuel Cells for the New Era of Sustainable Energy

这个SGER研究项目的目的是开发固体酸基燃料电池，利用无水，温，质子传导电解质固有的许多好处。将研究由磷酸盐固体酸和纳米颗粒氧化物组成的复合电解质。 已知这样的材料在低于原始固体酸通常所需的温度下表现出高质子传导率，并且可能显示出足以用于薄膜制造的机械性能。 选择用于研究的材料的特定组合是铯/铷磷酸盐固体酸和质子传导氧化物，钇掺杂的锆酸钡。这类材料预期在燃料电池环境中具有优异的化学稳定性。 关键的科学问题集中在界面现象，被认为是负责增强复合材料的导电性超过原始固体酸。 为了解决这些问题，样品将通过原位高温X射线衍射和固态NMR光谱进行检查。 与此同时，将进行膜电极组件的完整燃料电池表征，并评估这些材料应用的适用性。 通过对复合材料可以产生高导电性的机制的基本理解，结合燃料电池性能评估，将有可能设计出充分利用优异电气和机械性能潜力的复合结构。 拟议的研究将有助于澄清复合材料中增强质子传导性的现象，同时提供对此类材料适用于可持续能源生产的燃料电池应用的评估。***

The aim of this SGER research project is to develop solid acid based fuel cells that take advantage of the many benefits inherently offered by anhydrous, warm-temperature, proton conducting electrolytes. Composite electrolytes comprised of phosphate solid acids and nanoparticulate oxides will be studied. Such materials are known to exhibit high proton conductivity at temperatures lower than what is normally required for the pristine solid acid, and are likely to display mechanical properties sufficient for thin membrane fabrication. The specific combination of materials to selected for investigation is a cesium / rubidium phosphate solid acid and a proton conducting oxide, yttrium doped barium zirconate. This class of materials is anticipated to have excellent chemical stability in the fuel cell environment. Key scientific questions center on interfacial phenomenon that are believed to be responsible for the enhancement of the conductivity for composite materials over pristine solid acids. To address these questions, samples will be examined by in situ high temperature X-ray diffraction and solid state NMR spectroscopy. In parallel, complete fuel cell characterization of membrane-electrode-assemblies will be performed, and the suitability of these materials for applications assessed. With a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms by which composite materials can give rise to high conductivity, in combination with fuel cell performance evaluation, it will be possible to engineer composite architectures which fully exploit the potential for excellent electrical and mechanical properties. %%%The proposed studies will help to clarify the phenomenon of enhanced proton conductivity in composite materials, while simultaneously providing an assessment of the suitability of such materials to fuel cell applications for sustainable energy production. ***