• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.627-632
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• 2023

Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in various applications, including electric vehicles and portable electronics, due to their high energy density and long cycle life. The performance of lithium-ion batteries can be improved by using solid electrolytes, in terms of higher safety, stability, and energy density. Li_1.5Al_0.5Ti_1.5(PO₄)₃ (LATP) is a promising solid electrolyte for all-solid-state lithium batteries due to its high ionic conductivity and excellent stability. However, the ionic conductivity of LATP needs to be improved for commercializing all-solid-state lithium battery systems. In this study, we investigate the microstructures and ionic conductivities of LATP by incorporating B₂O₃ glass ceramics. The smaller grain size and narrow size distribution were obtained after the introduction of B₂O₃ in LATP, which is attributed to the B₂O₃ glass on grain boundaries of LATP. Moreover, higher ionic conductivity can be obtained after B₂O₃ incorporation, where the optimal composition is 0.1 wt% B₂O₃ incorporated LATP and the ionic conductivity reaches 8.8×10^-5 S/cm, more than 3 times higher value than pristine LATP. More research could be followed for having higher ionic conductivity and density by optimizing the processing conditions. This facile approach for establishing higher ionic conductivity in LATP solid electrolytes could accelerate the commercialization of all-solid-state lithium batteries.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.466-477
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• 2023

The increasing demand for high-performance energy storage systems has highlighted the limitations of conventional Li-ion batteries (LIBs), particularly regarding safety and energy density. All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) have emerged as a promising next-generation energy storage system, offering the potential to address these issues. By employing nonflammable solid electrolytes and utilizing high-capacity electrode materials, ASSBs have demonstrated improved safety and energy density. Automotive and energy storage industries, in particular, have recognized the significance of advancing ASSB technology. Although the use of Li metal as ASSB anode is promising due to its high theoretical capacity and the expectation that Li dendrites will not form in solid electrolytes, persistent problems with Li dendrite formation during cycling remain. Therefore, the exploration of novel high-performance anode materials for ASSBs is highly important. Recent research has focused extensively on alloy-based anodes for ASSBs, owing to their advantages of no dendrite formation and high-energy density. This study provides a comprehensive review of the latest advancements and challenges associated with alloy-based anodes for ASSBs.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.79-85
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• 2014

Silicon (Si) has been investigated as promising negative-electrode (anode) materials because its theoretical specific capacity of 4200 mAh/g for $Li_{4.4}Si$ is far higher than that of carbonaceous anodes in current commercial products. However, in practice, the application of Si to Li-ion batteries is still quite challenging because Si suffers from severe volume expansion and contraction and lead to a continuous solid electrolyte interphase (SEI)-filming process by cracking of Si. This process consumes the limited $Li^+$ source, builds up thick and unstable SEI layer on the Si active materials, and will eventually disable the cell. Since unstable SEI reduces electrochemical performance and thermal stability of the Si anode, the surface chemistry of the anode should be modified by using a functional additive. It is found that lithium bis(oxalato)borate (LiBOB) as an additive effectively protected the Si anode surface, improved capacity retention when stored at $60^{\circ}C$, and alleviated exothermic thermal reactions of fully lithiated Si anode.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.132-139
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• 2020

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are among one of the promising technologies for efficient and clean energy. SOFCs offer several advantages over other types of fuel cells under relatively high temperatures (600℃ to 800℃). However, the thermal behavior of SOFC stacks at high operating temperatures is a serious issue in SOFC development because it can be associated with detrimental thermal stresses on the life span of the stacks. The thermal behavior of SOFC stacks can be influenced by operating or material properties. Therefore, this work aims to investigate the effects of the thermal conductivity of each component (anode, cathode, and electrolyte) on the thermal behavior of samarium-doped ceria-based SOFCs at intermediate temperatures. Computational fluid dynamics is used to simulate SOFC operation at 600℃. The temperature distributions and gradients of a single cell at 0.7 V under different thermal conductivity values are analyzed and discussed to determine their relationship. Simulations reveal that the influence of thermal conductivity is more remarkable for the anode and electrolyte than for the cathode. Increasing the thermal conductivity of the anode by 50% results in a 23% drop in the maximum thermal gradients. The results for the electrolyte are subtle, with a ~67% reduction in thermal conductivity that only results in an 8% reduction in the maximum temperature gradient. The effect of thermal conductivity on temperature gradient is important because it can be used to predict thermal stress generation.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.42 no.2 s.273
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• pp.117-122
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• 2005

Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition (EB-PVD) is a typical technology for thermal barrier coating with Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) on aero gas turbine engine. In this study EB-PVD method was used to fabricate dense YSZ film on NiO-YSZ as a electrolyte of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC). Dense YSZ films of -10 $\mu$m thickness showed nano surface structure depending on deposition temperature. Electrical conductivities of YSZ film and electric power density of the single cell were evaluated after screen- printing $LaSrCoO_3$ as a cathode.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.507-512
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• 2005

When carbon electrode is used as an anode in Li ion battery, passivation film forms on the electrode surface during the initial charge process due to so called Solid-Electrolyte Interphase (SEI). The passivation film formed by solvent decomposition during the initial charge process affects charge/discharge capacity. In this paper, 1 M $LiPF_6,EC:DEC$ (1 : 1, volume ratio) electrolyte with $Li_2CO_3$, at various temperatures, the electrochemical characteristics of passivation film formed on Kawasaki Mesophase Fine Carbon electrode surface were investigated by using chronopotentiometry, cyclic voltammetry, and impedance spectroscopy. Experimental observations indicated that as solvent decomposition occurred, the decomposition voltage was strongly dependent on ionic conductivity, which was low in the process at low temperature. The impedance of passivation film formed during the initial charge process, were dependent on the temperature.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.42 no.12 s.283
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• pp.808-815
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• 2005

[ $Bi_xCe_{l-x}O_{2-x/2}$ ](BD C : Bismuth Doped Ceria) powders with x = 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 were synthesized using the Glycine Nitrate Process (GNP). They were then calcined at $500^{\circ}C$ for 2 hand sintered in a pellet or rod form at 900, 1000 or $1100^{\circ}C$ for 4 h for characterization as the alternative electrolyte material for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells. The BDC powder consisted of a single phase of $CeO_2-Bi_2O_3$ solid solution in the as-synthesized state as well as in the as-calcined state with a mean powder size of 4.5nm in the former state and 6.5 - 10.1nm in the latter. On the contrary, the second phase of $\alpha-Bi_2O_3$ was observed to have been formed in the sinter with its amount increasing roughly with increasing temperature or $Bi_2O_3$ content. The BOC powder was superior in sinterability to other alternative electrolyte materials such as GDC, ScSZ, and LSGM with the minimum sintering temperature for a relative density of $95\%$ or larger as low as $1100^{\circ}C$. The ionic conductivity of BOC increased with $Bi_2O_3$ content and the maximum value of 0.119 S/cm was obtained at $800^{\circ}C$ for $Bi_{0.3}Ce_{0.7}O_{1.85}$.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.43 no.5 s.288
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• pp.299-303
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• 2006

In this paper, anode supported SOFC with columnar structured YSZ electrolyte was fabricated via Electron Beam Physical Vapor Deposition (EBPVD) method. Liquid condensation process was employed for the preparation of NiO-YSZ substrate and the high power electron beam deposition method was used for the deposition of YSZ electrolyte film. Double layered cathode with LSM-YSZ and LSM was printed on electrolyte via screen-printing method and fired at $1150^{\circ}C$ in air atmosphere for 3 h. The electrochemical performance and the long-term stability of $5{\times}5cm^2$ single cell were investigated with DC current-voltage characteristics and AC-impedance spectroscopy. According to the investigation, $5{\times}5cm^2$ sized unit cell showed the maximum power density of around $0.76W/cm^2$ at $800^{\circ}C$ and maintained the stable performance over 400 h.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.70.1-70.1
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• 2012

In-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy studies of SOFC cathode materials will be discussed in this presentation. The mixed conducting perovskites (ABO3) containing rare and alkaline earth metals on the A-site and a transition metal on the B-site are commonly used as cathodes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). However, the details of the oxygen reduction reaction are still not clearly understood. The information about the type of adsorbed oxygen species and their concentration is important for a mechanistic understanding of the oxygen incorporation into these cathode materials. XPS has been widely used for the analysis of adsorbed species and surface structure. However, the conventional XPS experiments have the severe drawback to operate at room temperature and with the sample under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions, which is far from the relevant conditions of SOFC operation. The disadvantages of conventional XPS can be overcome to a large extent with a "high pressure" XPS setup installed at the BESSY II synchrotron. It allows sample depth profiling over 2 nm without sputtering by variation of the excitation energy, and most importantly measurements under a residual gas pressure in the mbar range. It is also well known that the catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction is very sensitive to their electrical conductivity and oxygen nonstoichiometry. Although the electrical conductivity of perovskite oxides has been intensively studied as a function of temperature or oxygen partial pressure (Po2), in-situ measurements of the conductivity of these materials in contact with the electrolyte as a SOFC configuration have little been reported. In order to measure the in-plane conductivity of an electrode film on the electrolyte, a substrate with high resistance is required for excluding the leakage current of the substrate. It is also hardly possible to measure the conductivity of cracked thin film by electrical methods. In this study, we report the electrical conductivity of perovskite $La_{0.6}Sr_{0.4}CoO_{3-{\delta}}$ (LSC) thin films on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte quantitatively obtained by in-situ IR spectroscopy. This method enables a reliable measurement of the electronic conductivity of the electrodes as part of the SOFC configuration regardless of leakage current to the substrate and cracks in the film.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.390-397
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• 2022

The use of microwaves as the energy source for synthesis and sintering of ceramics offers substantial advantages compared to conventional gas-fired and electric resistance furnaces. Benefits include much shorter processing times and reaching the sintering temperature more quickly, resulting in superior final product quality. Most oxide ceramics poorly interact with microwave irradiation at low temperatures; thus, a more complex setup including a susceptor is needed, which makes the whole process very complicated. This investigation pursued a new approach, which enabled us to use microwave irradiation directly in poorly coupled oxides. In many solid-state electrochemical devices, the support is either metal or can be reduced to metal. Metal powders in the support can act as an internal susceptor and heat the entire cell. Then sufficient interaction of microwave irradiation and ceramic material can occur as the sample temperature increases. This microwave heating and exothermic reaction of oxidation of the support can sinter the ceramic very efficiently without any external susceptor. In this study, yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and a Ni-YSZ cermet support were used as an example. The cermet was used as the support, and a YSZ electrolyte was coated and sintered directly using microwave irradiation without the use of any susceptor. The results were compared to a similar cell prepared using a conventional electric furnace. The leakage test and full cell power measurement results revealed a fully leak-free electrolyte. Scanning electron microscopy and density measurements show that microwave sintered samples have lower open porosity in the electrode support than conventional heat treatment. This technique offers an efficient way to directly use microwave irradiation to sinter thin film ceramics without a susceptor.