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Novel route for the mass production of nanomaterials for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

ALEJANDRO MORATA 1Guilhem Dezanneau 2Anthony Chesnaud 2Francesca Peiró 1Joan R. Morante 1

1. Electronics Department, University of Barcelona, C\ Martí i Franqu?s, Barcelona 08028, Spain
2. Ecole Centrale Paris, SPMS, UMR CNRS-ECP (ECP), Grande voie des vignes, Chatenay-Malabry 92295, France

Abstract

It is of strong interest in fuel cells fabrication to have a good control of raw materials properties and microstructure. An adequate synthesis method is, for instance, necessary to obtain high performance electrodes with enhanced conduction and gas exchange properties. Here, we present a new method in which cations dissolved in an aqueous solution are trapped inside a 3D chelating gel before fast drying. We prepared nanocrystalline powders of a wide panel of the state-of-the-art fuel cells materials such as: YSZ, CGO, Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O4-d, GdBaCo2O5+x, Nd1.9NiO4+d, La0.75Sr0.25Cr0.5Mn0.5O3, and BaZr0.9Y0.1O3. This very fast route allows preparing several tens of grams of nanometric powders in one batch and the feasibility of the process is almost independent from the cations involved in the reaction. The synthesized powders present nanometric crystal size (10–40 nm), narrow size distribution and the possibility of aggregate disagglomeration via soft ball milling, allowing better electrolyte consolidation or control of electrode morphology in fuel cells. We also made this method more attractive from the industrial point of view, by using a non toxic polymer and a non-explosive initiator. Finally, since the process is largely independent from the material formula, this method can be easily extended to other kinds of oxides such as ferroelectrics, CMR compounds or gas sensors…

1. A. Sin, P. Odier, Advanced Materials, 12 (2000) 649-652

2. A. Tarancón, G. Dezanneau, J. Arbiol, F. Peiró, J.R. Morante, J. Power Sources 118 (2003) 256-264

 

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Related papers

Presentation: Oral at E-MRS Fall Meeting 2007, Symposium A, by ALEJANDRO MORATA
See On-line Journal of E-MRS Fall Meeting 2007

Submitted: 2007-05-10 18:23
Revised:   2009-06-07 00:44