Featured Research Materials Science & Engineering

    
The aim of the project is to project is to rationally design materials with higher oxygen ion conductivity for the electrolyte application in solid oxide fuel cells. This will allow lowering the operational temperature of the device from 1000˚C TO 500-700˚C, which can significantly reduce the cost and extend its domain to portable power market sectors. In this work, structure-conductivity relationships will be investigated in Sc2O3 stabilized ZrO2 based materials as they exhibit high ionic conductivity and minimal electronic conduction. In addition, conductivity ageing studies will be performed (over 1000 h) at high temperatures. For this work, an impedance analyzer (Solartron 1260) will be procured that can measure impedances (>100 MΩ) in applied frequency range from 32MHz to 10µMHz. A setup will also be developed for conductivity Measurement at high Temperatures.