SBIR Phase I: Novel Processing of Mesoporous Materials for Intermediate-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将展示设计用于中温（600°C）固体氧化物燃料电池（it - sofc）的工程介孔氧化锆膜的可行性，旨在扩展介孔膜合成的基础和实践知识，以及介孔膜的电子行为，同时生产直接应用于it - sofc的材料。这项工作将首次展示用于it - sofc的介孔氧化锆薄膜。本研究的目的是：1)改进和详细设计一种大规模和实用的方法来生成大量的介孔氧化锆粉末和膜；2)评估膜的离子电导率特性。该项目的成功完成将为it - sofc提供具有高电子导电性的介孔陶瓷膜。与最先进的技术相比，所提出的技术具有竞争优势，包括：合成高度稳定的介孔材料，获得纳米级颗粒尺寸的致密材料，并允许确定这些类型材料的渗透率和电子性能。这个项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是帮助开发更便宜的燃料电池。这项技术可以为便携式电源提供解决方案，并在一定程度上消除对电池的需求。sofc为燃料电池行业提供了一种有前途的技术选择，由于需要可靠的电源，燃料电池行业是电力行业增长最快的领域之一。大多数sofc在800-1000°C的工作温度下使用，因为标准商用电解质材料在高工作温度下的电阻较低。为了降低sofc的成本，加速其市场应用，需要降低sofc的工作温度。介孔氧化锆是应用于IT-SOFCs的优良候选材料。与竞争技术相比，介孔薄膜技术是独一无二的，将允许开发有效的电源。这项技术对这个国家未来的能源需求越来越重要。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of designing engineered mesoporous zirconia films for intermediate temperature (600°C) solid-oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs) with the aim of extending the basic and practical knowledge of synthesis as well as electronic behavior of mesoporous films, while at the same time producing materials that have a direct application in IT-SOFCs. This work will, for the first time, demonstrate mesoporous zirconia films for IT-SOFCs. The objectives of this study are: 1) refinement and detailed design of a large-scale and practical means of generating significant amounts of mesoporous zirconia powders and films, and 2) assessment of the ionic conductivity properties of the films. The successful completion of this project will result in mesoporous ceramic films with high electronic conductivity for IT-SOFCs. Compared to state-of-the-art, the proposed technology has competitive advantages including: synthesizing highly stable mesoporous materials, obtaining compacts with grain sizes in the nanometer regime, and allowing the determination of permeability and electronic properties in these types of materials.The broader impacts/commercial potential of this project is to aid in the development of less expensive fuel cells. This technology could provide a solution for portable power and partly eliminate the need for batteries. SOFCs offer a promising technology options for the fuel cell industry which is one of the fastest growing segments of the power industry due to the need for reliable power sources. Most SOFCs are used at the operating temperature of 800-1000°C because the resistance of the standard commercial electrolyte material is lower at high operating temperatures. To reduce the cost of the SOFCs and to accelerate their market application, the operating temperature of SOFCs needs to be decreased. Mesoporous zirconia is an excellent candidate material for the IT-SOFCs application. The mesoporous film technology is unique compared to the competing technology and will allow for the development of effective power sources. This technology is of increasing importance for the future energy needs of this country.