Fundamentals and Implementation of Oxide Anodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。目前的建议是探索新的阳极材料，使固体氧化物燃料电池（sofc）能够直接与一系列实用燃料（包括碳氢化合物、气化生物质或煤）一起工作。sofc由于其发电效率高、污染少而受到当前的特别关注，但由于燃料电池发电厂的初始成本相对较高，商业化一直受到抑制。带有新阳极的sofc将大大简化发电厂，特别是减少用于将燃料转化为氢和去除燃料杂质的硬件。由此产生的成本降低应该有助于加速燃料电池发电厂的广泛推广。该项目将包括基础研究，以确定和了解新阳极材料的性能，以及使用新阳极的sofc的制造和电气测试。更广泛的影响具体预期的更广泛的影响如下：(1)将招募和培训一名研究生，增加燃料电池，电化学设备和能源/环境领域的专家数量；(2)积极招收本科生从事科研工作；(3)在教师研究经验（RET）计划下招募一名高中教师，不仅参与研究，而且将演示和实验带入课堂；(4)及时将电化学能源系统的研究进展纳入材料科学与工程课程；(5)通过参与芝加哥科学与工业博物馆有关能源和环境的互动式博物馆展示活动，向公众广泛传播能源/环境理念和问题；(6)引入具有成本效益的燃料柔性sofc将提高燃料到电力的效率，减少污染，并有助于实现二氧化碳的封存。该项目由工程局CBET部门的可持续发展能源计划和数学和物理科学局材料研究部（DMR）的陶瓷计划支持。

0854223BarnettThis award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).Intellectual MeritThe present proposal is to explore new anode materials that will allow solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) to work directly with a range of practical fuels, including hydrocarbons, gasified biomass, or coal. SOFCs are of particular current interest because of their ability to produce electricity efficiently and with minimal pollution, but commercialization has been inhibited by the relatively high initial cost of the fuel cell power plants. SOFCs with the new anodes will enable considerable simplification of the power plants, especially reduction in the hardware used to convert the fuel to hydrogen and to remove fuel impurities. The resulting cost reductions should help speed the widespread introduction of fuel cell power plants. The project will include fundamental studies to determine and understand the properties of the new anode materials, as well as fabrication and electrical testing of SOFCs with the new anodes. Broader ImpactThe specific anticipated broader impacts are as follows: (1) A graduate research student will be recruited and trained, increasing the pool of experts in the areas of fuel cells, electrochemical devices, and energy/environment; (2) Undergraduate students will be actively recruited and engaged in research; (3) A high school teacher will be recruited under the research experience for teachers (RET) program, not only to participate in research but to bring demonstrations and experiments into the classroom; (4) Timely research developments on electrochemical energy systems will be incorporated into the Materials Science and Engineering curriculum; (5) Energy/environmental ideas and issues will be broadly disseminated to the public by participating in Chicago Museum of Science & Industry initiatives on interactive museum displays related to energy and the environment; and (6) The introduction of cost effective fuel-flexible SOFCs would improve fuel-to-electricity efficiency, reduce pollution, and help enable CO2 sequestration. This project was supported by the Energy for Sustainability Program of the CBET Division of the Engineering Directorate and the Ceramics Program of the Division of Materials Research (DMR) of the Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate.