• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.50 no.6
• /
• pp.390-395
• /
• 2013

Nanocrystalline CrN films were deposited on Si (100) substrates by means of asymmetric pulsed DC reactive magnetron sputtering. We investigated the growth behavior, corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of CrN films with a change in the duty cycle and pulse frequency. The grain size of the CrN films decreased from 25.4 nm to 11.2 nm upon a decrease in the duty cycle. The corrosion potentials for the CrN films by DC sputtering was approximately - 0.6 V, and it increased to - 0.3 V in the CrN films which underwent pulsed sputtering. The nanoindentation hardness of the CrN films also increased with a decrease in the duty cycle. This enhancement of the corrosion resistance and mechanical properties of pulsed sputtered CrN films could be attributed to the densification and surface smoothness of the microstructure of the films.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.212-219
• /
• 2018

Perovskite type ceramic membranes which exhibit dual ion conduction (proton and oxygen ion conduction) can permeate water and can aid solving operational problems such as temperature gradient and carbon deposition associated with a working solid oxide fuel cell. From this point of view, it is crucial to reveal water transport mechanism and especially the nature of the surface sites that is necessary for water incorporation and evolution. $BaCe_{0.8}Y_{0.2}O_{3-{\alpha}}$ (BCY20) was used as a model proton and oxygen ion conducting membrane in this work. Four different catalytically modified membrane configurations were used for the investigations and water flux was measured as a function of temperature. In addition, CO was introduced to the permeate side in order to test the stability of membrane against water and $CO/CO_2$ and post operation analysis of used membranes were carried out. The results revealed that water incorporation occurs on any exposed electrolyte surface. However, the magnitude of water permeation changes depending on which membrane surface is catalytically modified. The platinum increases the water flux on the feed side whilst it decreases the flux on the permeate side. Water flux measurements suggest that platinum can block water permeation on the permeate side by reducing the access to the lattice oxygen in the surface layer.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.162-167
• /
• 2005

Using Pechini method, we synthesized the $La_{0.6}Ca_{0.41}CrO_3$ (LCC41) and $La_{0.8}Sr_{0.05}Ca_{0.15}CrO_3$ (LSCC) powders for slurry dip coating, and $La_{0.75}Ca_{0.27}CrO_3$ (LCC27) powder for air plasma spray coating. The sintering property of the powders and their coating properties were investigated. The average particle sizes of the LCC41, LSCC, LCC27 were 0.6, 0.9, $1.5{\mu}m$, respectively. The relative density of LCC41 bulk was to be found about 98%. The LSCC coating on anode support prevented Ca migration of the coated LCC41 on the anode some or less, which was confirmed from EDS result. The air plasma spray-coated LCC27 with the dip-coated LCC41 were more dense and showed better electrical conductivity than those of the air plasma spray-coated LCC27 and the dip-coated LSCC and LSCC41. The LCC41 and LCC27 showed good electrical conductivities, but the LSCC had a poor electrical conductivity probably due to low sinterability

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
• /
• v.36 no.9
• /
• pp.931-935
• /
• 2012

In this study, we fabricate and investigate low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells with a ceramic substrate/porous metal/ceramic/porous metal structure. To realize low-temperature operation in solid oxide fuel cells, the membrane should be fabricated to have a thickness of the order of a few hundreds nanometers to minimize IR loss. Yttrium-doped barium zirconate (BYZ), a proton conductor, was used as the electrolyte. We deposited a 350-nm-thick Pt (anode) layer on a porous substrate by sputter deposition. We also deposited a 1-${\mu}m$-thick BYZ layer on the Pt anode using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Finally, we deposited a 200-nm-thick Pt (cathode) layer on the BYZ electrolyte by sputter deposition. The open circuit voltage (OCV) is 0.806 V, and the maximum power density is 11.9 mW/$cm^2$ at $350^{\circ}C$. Even though a fully dense electrolyte is deposited via PLD, a cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image reveals many voids and defects.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.16 no.8
• /
• pp.5728-5735
• /
• 2015

This study attempts to verify the applicability of ceramic membrane as a separator by comparing the power generation characteristics in single-chamber MFCs using ceramic membranes to those in the MFCs using nafion membrane. The generated power in MFCs by using acetate as a substrate was more stable than that by using formate, propionate and butyrate, respectively. It was shown that the generated power by using formate substrate in MFCs was unstable and a little higher than that by using acetate, and the power generated by using propionate and butyrate were lower than that by using acetate. In order to find out the Pt catalyst effect, it was compared the power generated in MFCs using Pt-coated carbon cloth as electrode to that power using normal carbon cloth. The power generated in MFCs using Pt-coated carbon cloth as electrode was 1.2 times higher than that using normal carbon cloth. The Pt-coated carbon cloth was about 5 times more expensive than normal carbon cloth. It is suggested that both power generation efficiency and cost together should be considered in selecting electrodes of MFCs. It was found that the ceramic membrane was superior to nafion membrane by comparing to the power generation characteristics obtained. It was shown that average voltage values were $523.67mV{\pm}49.41mV$ by using synthetic wastewater, in MFCs of ceramic membrane as a separator. While average voltage values were $424.09mV{\pm}79.95mV$ by using synthetic wastewater, in MFCs of nafion membrane as a separator. The organic removal efficiency, 41.7% by using ceramic membrane was a little bit higher than 40.8% by using nafion membrane. This research implies ceramic membrane can be a valid alternative to nafion membrane as a separator when considering the power generation and the efficiency of organics removal.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.43 no.12 s.295
• /
• pp.823-828
• /
• 2006

One of the main issues of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) is to reduce the operating temperature to $750^{\circ}C$ or less. It has advantages of improving the life of component parts and the long-term stability of a system, so the production cost could be decreased. In order to achieve that, the ohmic and polarization loss of a single cell should be minimized first. This paper presents.to fabricate anode-supported single cells with controlling microstructure as a function of particle size and volume of graphite and NiO-YSZ weight ratio. By means of optimizing the manufactural condition through microstructure analysis and performance evaluation, the single cell which had NiO-YSZ=6:4, graphite volume of 24% and graphite size of $75{\mu}m$ as the anode composition showed a distinguished power density of $510mW/cm^2$ at $650^{\circ}C$ and $810mW/cm^2$ at $700^{\circ}C$, respectively.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.56 no.5
• /
• pp.497-505
• /
• 2019

Lanthanum-based transition metal cations containing perovskites have emerged as potential catalysts for the intermediate-temperature (600-800℃) oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Here, we report a facile acetylacetone-assisted combustion route for the synthesis of nanostructured La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.2Fe_0.8O_3-δ (LSCF6428) cathodes for intermediate-temperature solid-oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). The as-prepared powder was analyzed by thermogravimetry analysis-differential scanning calorimetry. The powder calcined at 800℃ was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electrode microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area measurements. It was found that the porosity of the air electrode significantly increased by utilizing the nanostructured LSCF6428 instead of commercial powder. The performance of a single cell fabricated with the nanostructured LSCF6428 cathode increased by 112%, from 0.4 to 0.85 W cm^-2, at 700℃. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed a considerable reduction in the area-specific resistance and activation energy from 133.5 to 61.5 kJ/mol, resulting in enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward ORR and overall cell performance.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.759-764
• /
• 2011

Mixed-conducting oxide powders, $BaCe_{0.9}Y_{0.1}O_{2.95}$ (BCY) and $SrCe_{0.9}Y_{0.1}O_{2.95}$ (SCY) powders have been prepared by a solid-state reaction method. Xray diffraction patterns of the prepared powders showed the sharp peaks of the $BaCe_{0.9}Y_{0.1}O_{2.95}$ and $SrCe_{0.9}Y_{0.1}O_{2.95}$ phases. The oxide powders that were prepared by attrition milling showed rather large particles and severe necking between particles in FE-SEM images as well as residual reactant ($BaCO_3$) and secondary phases ($SrCeO_3$ and $CeO_2$) in XRD patterns. The oxide powders prepared using ball milling showed particles under approximately 500 nm and typical XRD patterns of the $BaCe_{0.9}Y_{0.1}O_{2.95}$ and $SrCe_{0.9}Y_{0.1}O_{2.95}$ phases. Ceramic membranes of the $BaCe_{0.9}Y_{0.1}O_{2.95}$ and $SrCe_{0.9}Y_{0.1}O_{2.95}$ phases were fabricated by the aerosol deposition method using the oxide powders synthesized.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.169-176
• /
• 2020

There is a growing interest in hydrogen energy utilization since an alternative energy development has been demanded due to the depletion of fossil fuels. Hydrogen is produced by the reforming reaction of natural gas and biogas, and the electrolysis of water. An solid oxide electrolyte cell (SOEC) is reversible system that generates hydrogen by electrolyzing the superheated steam or producing the electricity from a fuel cell by hydrogen. If the water can be converted into steam by waste heat from other processes it is more efficient for high-temperature electrolysis to convert steam directly. The reasons are based upon the more favorable thermodynamic and electrochemical kinetic conditions for the reaction. In the present study, steam at over 180℃ and 3.4 bars generated from a boiler were converted into superheated steam at over 700℃ and 3 bars using a cylindrical steam superheater as well as the waste heat of the exhaust gas at 900℃ from a solid refuse fuel combustor. Superheated steam at over 700℃ was then supplied to a high-temperature SOEC to increase the hydrogen production efficiency of water electrolysis. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis was conducted on the effects of the number of 90° elbow connector for piping, insulation types and insulation layers of pipe on the exit temperature using a commercial Fluent simulator. For two pre-heater injection method of steam inlet and ceramic wool insulation of 100 mm thickness, the highest inlet temperature of SOEC was 744℃ at 5.9 bar.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.23 no.6
• /
• pp.670-677
• /
• 2012

Perovskite-type oxides such as doped barium zirconate ($BaZrO_3$) show high proton conductivity and chemical stability when they are exposed to hydrogen and water vapour containing atmospheres, thus it can be applicable to the hydrogen separation and the fuel cell electrolyte membranes. However the high temperature ($1700-1800^{\circ}C$) and long sintering times (24h) are generally required to prepare the fully densified $BaZrO_3$ pellets. These sintering conditions lead to the limitation of the grain size growth and the degradation of conductivity due to the acceleration of BaO evaporation at $1200^{\circ}C$. Here we demonstrate NiO-doped $BaZr_{0.85}Y_{0.15}O_{3-{\delta}}$ with lower calcination and sintering temperature, less experimental procedure and lower process cost than the conventional mixing method. The stoichiometry of $BaZr_{0.85}Y_{0.15}O_{3-{\delta}}$ was optimized by the control of excess amount of Ba (5mol%) to minimized BaO evaporation. We found that the crystal size of NiO-doped $BaZr_{0.85}Y_{0.15}O_{3-{\delta}}$ was increased with increase of calcination temperature from XRD analysis. NiO-doped $BaZr_{0.85}Y_{0.15}O_{3-{\delta}}$ powder was calcined at $1000^{\circ}C$ for 12h when its showed the highest conductivity of $3.3{\times}10^{-2}s/cm$.