Issue 19, 2010

Strong immobilization of charge carriers near the surface of a solid oxide electrolyte

Abstract

A promise of nano-structured solid electrolytes (SEs) to present enhanced ionic conductivity necessary for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell applications arises from the hypothesis that interfaces in these materials accelerate the ionic transport. However an in-depth knowledge of ionic dynamics in the interfacial regions, relative to the bulk, imperative to verify such a hypothesis is currently lacking. Here, we report the results of an atomistic study of oxygen-vacancy hopping dynamics in nano-crystalline Sc-doped ceria (SDC), one of the most studied oxygen-anion conducting SEs, using 45Sc magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) spectroscopy. Our results provide direct experimental evidence that oxygen vacancies in the surface region of SDC are nearly immobile even at temperatures as high as 600 °C. Such findings suggest that accelerated oxygen-anionic transport along interfaces in SDC is highly unlikely, and thus lead to the conclusion that nano-structuring of this SE, and possibly other oxide SEs, will unlikely benefit their anionic conductivities.

Graphical abstract: Strong immobilization of charge carriers near the surface of a solid oxide electrolyte

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
17 Dec 2009
Accepted
12 Feb 2010
First published
15 Mar 2010

J. Mater. Chem., 2010,20, 3855-3858

Strong immobilization of charge carriers near the surface of a solid oxide electrolyte

S. Kim, P. Jain, H. J. Avila-Paredes, A. Thron, K. van Benthem and S. Sen, J. Mater. Chem., 2010, 20, 3855 DOI: 10.1039/B926664J

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