Solid Oxide Interfaces for Faster Ion Transport (SOIFIT)

固态电化学设备将彻底改变清洁能源的转换和储存，并提供一种途径，以尽量减少碳排放，同时维持全球能源需求。固体氧化物燃料电池（SOFC）和固体氧化物电解电池（SOEC）等设备以及所有固态锂和钠电池将在日本，欧洲和美国的能源经济中发挥越来越重要的作用，用于国内工业和运输应用。例如用于电动汽车的所有固态锂电池，以及用于国内热电联产应用的SOFC堆栈。这种基于固体氧化物电解质的器件依赖于带电原子（离子）在固体/气体和/或固体/固体界面上的快速传输。除了优化这些界面以实现快速离子传输外，它们还在操作条件下器件的退化中起着重要作用。这些降解过程的例子是由于活性氧化物的表面分解引起的SOFC电极性能下降，锂电池中短路锂金属枝晶的形成，以及SOEC中电极的分层。本提案的重点将是通过最先进的表征技术，结合前沿的理论模拟，对两种类型的界面进行全面和基础的研究，以研究详细的原子结构，电子结构，化学成分以及质量和电荷输运。这是一项非常具有挑战性的任务，因为实际设备中使用的材料是复杂的多组分氧化物。例子包括双钙钛矿氧化物，如用作SOFC阴极和SOEC阳极的GdBaCo2O5+d，以及用作锂电池电解质的石榴石La3Zr2Li7O12。此外，在设备暴露于模拟操作条件或实际操作后对这些接口进行调查，将提高设备的使用寿命，并导致更可行的商业产品。一个由大学和研究机构组成的联盟将成为这一合作的核心。主要合作伙伴是伦敦帝国学院材料系和九州大学国际碳中和能源研究所（I2CNER）。除了牵头的英日团队外，还有苏黎世保罗谢勒研究所（PSI/ETH）和麻省理工学院。该联盟将确保合作国家的研究人员能够获得最新的高性能设备和理论工具。它还将允许来自所有参与者的年轻研究人员在合作伙伴之间旅行，并与参与这一重要研究课题的资深科学家会面。人们希望这个联盟的成立将形成一个“临界质量”的努力，以解决迄今为止一直难以解决的问题。

Solid state electrochemical devices are set to revolutionise clean energy conversion and storage and provide a pathway to minimise carbon emissions whilst sustaining global energy requirements. Devices such as the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and the Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cell (SOEC) and all solid state lithium and sodium batteries will play an increasingly important role in the energy economies of Japan, Europe and the USA, for domestic industrial and transport applications. Example devices are all solid state Li batteries for electric vehicles, and SOFC stacks for domestic CHP applications. Such devices based on solid oxide electrolytes rely upon the rapid transport of charged atoms (ions) across either the solid/gas and/or solid/solid interfaces. In addition to the optimisation of such interfaces for fast ion transport, they also play an important role in the degradation of devices under operating conditions. Examples of these degradation processes are the drop in performance of SOFC electrodes caused by surface decomposition of the active oxides, the formation of short circuit Li metal dendrites in Li batteries, and the delamination of electrodes in SOEC. The focus of this proposal will be to provide a full and fundamental study of both types of interface by state-of-the-art characterisation techniques, combined with cutting edge theoretical simulations, to investigate the detailed atomic structure electronic structure chemical composition and mass and charge transport. This is a very challenging task as the materials used in practical devices are complex multi-component oxides. Examples include the double perovskite oxides, such as GdBaCo2O5+d used as a SOFC cathode and an SOEC anode, and the garnet La3Zr2Li7O12 used as an electrolyte in Li batteries. In addition the investigation of these interfaces after exposure to simulated operating conditions, or real operation in devices, will enhance the lifetime of devices and lead to more viable commercial products. A consortium of universities and research institutes will form the core of this collaboration. The lead partners are the Department of Materials at Imperial College London and the International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I2CNER) Kyushu University. Outside the lead UK-Japanese team will be the Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI/ETH) Zurich and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This consortium will ensure that the researchers in the collaborating countries have access to the latest high performance equipment and theoretical tools. It will also allow young researchers from all the participants to travel between the partners, and meet senior scientists involved in this important research topic. It is hoped that the formation of this consortium will form a "critical mass" of effort to solve what have, up to now, been intractable problems.