The promise of direct and efficient conversion of chemical to electrical energy makes fuel cell development an area of great technological interest. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) are one of the most promising technologies to meet this goal. However, current SOFCs operate at temperatures above 700oC. This high temperature increases costs and decreases cell lifetime. To overcoming this challenge we must develop materials that demonstrate high electrocatalytic activity and facile ion and electron transport at lower temperatures. A significant barrier to progress is a lack of experimental techniques that can probe the properties of these materials under high temperate working conditions. This presentation will discuss our efforts to generate bulk to surface structure-function relationships for SOFC cathode materials; focusing on our work related to double perovskite and Ruddlesden-Popper layered phases. In particular, we will present relationships derived from combined crystallographic characterization by in-situ neutron diffraction and synchrotron XRD, surface oxygen exchange rates determined by pulsed isotopic exchange, electrochemical performance from impedance spectroscopy, and surface composition from XPS and HS-LEIS. The combination of these techniques provides powerful insights into the links between structure and function of both bulk and surface properties, and the link between the surface and the bulk.

Structure-function relationships into layered solid oxide fuel cell cathode material

249th National Meeting (2015)

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