materials-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Materials Frontiers for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs): Structure-Performance Correlation

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2024 | Viewed by 957

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Energy and Mechanic, Università degli studi Guglielmo Marconi, Rome, Italy
Interests: energy; biomass gasification; fuel cell; gas conditioning; electrolyzers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, novel technologies for the production of energy, such as fuel cell systems that combine low CO2 emission outputs with the conversion of fuel to electricity, have been proposed and garnered significant attention as promising energy supplies employing renewed fuels such as hydrogen. Fuel cells present several benefits: (i) high efficiencies (up to 75–85 %); (ii) low or zero CO2 emissions; and (iii) suitability for both stationary and mobile applications. Fuel cells can operate at low and high temperatures depending on the electrolyte used. Among the high-temperature cells, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) show high potentiality due to their total efficiency, which is up to 85% when heat cogeneration is considered. These devices can convert various kinds of fuels into electricity with high efficiency and low levels of catalyst degradation. In addition, if the syngas produced from the biomass gasification process is used as fuel, in order to preserve the performance of the catalyst, hot gas conditioning is normally performed in order to reduce the number of typical contaminants. Thus, for the durable operations of SOFC fuel cells, an efficient gas cleaning phase is essential to remove the critical pollutants that significantly deteriorate the fuel cell systems. In particular, the purpose of this Special Issue is to publish high-quality research papers and review articles that address the study, synthesis, and characterization of advanced materials for SOFC fuel cells, as well as the materials and processes enable to perform a gas cleaning treatment with high efficiency and low cost for the fuel conditioning stage in SOFC applications.

Dr. Alessandro Dell'Era
Dr. Enrico Bocci
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • advanced materials
  • catalysts
  • fuel cells
  • energy production
  • gas cleaning
  • contaminants removal

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

13 pages, 5169 KiB  
Article
Quantifying Microstructure Features for High-Performance Solid Oxide Cells
by Cristina Mariana Ruse, Lily Ann Hume, Yudong Wang, Thomas C. Pesacreta and Xiao-Dong Zhou
Materials 2024, 17(11), 2622; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17112622 - 29 May 2024
Viewed by 450
Abstract
The drive for sustainable energy solutions has spurred interest in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). This study investigates the impact of sintering temperature on SOFC anode microstructures using advanced 3D focused ion beam–scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM). The anode’s ceramic–metal composition significantly influences electrochemical [...] Read more.
The drive for sustainable energy solutions has spurred interest in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). This study investigates the impact of sintering temperature on SOFC anode microstructures using advanced 3D focused ion beam–scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM). The anode’s ceramic–metal composition significantly influences electrochemical performance, making optimization crucial. Comparing cells sintered at different temperatures reveals that a lower sintering temperature enhances yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and nickel distribution, volume, and particle size, along with the triple-phase boundary (TPB) interface. Three-dimensional reconstructions illustrate that the cell sintered at a lower temperature exhibits a well-defined pore network, leading to increased TPB density. Hydrogen flow simulations demonstrate comparable permeability for both cells. Electrochemical characterization confirms the superior performance of the cell sintered at the lower temperature, displaying higher power density and lower total cell resistance. This FIB-SEM methodology provides precise insights into the microstructure–performance relationship, eliminating the need for hypothetical structures and enhancing our understanding of SOFC behavior under different fabrication conditions. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop