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Review
. 2021 Sep 3;11(9):2290.
doi: 10.3390/nano11092290.

Recent Progress in Semiconductor-Ionic Conductor Nanomaterial as a Membrane for Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Yuzheng Lu  1 , Youquan Mi  2 , Junjiao Li  3 , Fenghua Qi  1 , Senlin Yan  1 , Wenjing Dong  2
Affiliations
Review

Recent Progress in Semiconductor-Ionic Conductor Nanomaterial as a Membrane for Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Yuzheng Lu et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

Reducing the operating temperature of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) to 300-600 °C is a great challenge for the development of SOFC. Among the extensive research and development (R&D) efforts that have been done on lowering the operating temperature of SOFCs, nanomaterials have played a critical role in improving ion transportation in electrolytes and facilitating electrochemical catalyzation of the electrodes. This work reviews recent progress in lowering the temperature of SOFCs by using semiconductor-ionic conductor nanomaterial, which is typically a composition of semiconductor and ionic conductor, as a membrane. The historical development, as well as the working mechanism of semiconductor-ionic membrane fuel cell (SIMFC), is discussed. Besides, the development in the application of nanostructured pure ionic conductors, semiconductors, and nanocomposites of semiconductors and ionic conductors as the membrane is highlighted. The method of using nano-structured semiconductor-ionic conductors as a membrane has been proved to successfully exhibit a significant enhancement in the ionic conductivity and power density of SOFCs at low temperatures and provides a new way to develop low-temperature SOFCs.

Keywords: low temperature solid oxide fuel cells; membrane; nanomaterials; semiconductor-ionic conductor.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Role of fuel cells as a renewable energy resource [5].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representations of molecules to ions at the triple-phase boundary [21,22].
Figure 3
Figure 3
The trend of material structure from macro to nano-scale [5].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Schematic diagram of the transportation of (a) oxygen ions; (b) protons in a conventional Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) [5].
Figure 5
Figure 5
Schematic diagram of the reaction mechanism (a) based on O2− and H+; (b) based on O and H+; (c) based on O2− and H [50].
Figure 6
Figure 6
The structure of semiconductor-ionic membrane fuel cells (SIMFCs).
Figure 7
Figure 7
A built-in field produced by the Schottky junction [68].
Figure 8
Figure 8
Schematic diagram of a typical p-n heterojunction formed at the heterostructure interface of the BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1O3−δ (BCFZY)-ZnO membrane layer and the corresponding energy band alignment mechanism proposed for interpreting the charge separation and ionic transportation process [74].
Figure 9
Figure 9
Charge separation at the interface of CeO2−δ/CeO2 particle [72].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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