Issue 6, 2017

Synergistic effects of thermal expansion-induced variation in the electrode microstructure on polarization loss in solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract

Thermal expansion, capable of altering the electrode microstructure, might impact gas transport in electrode-supported solid oxide fuel cells. However, the impacts of thermal expansion-induced variation in the electrode microstructure on gas transport are typically overlooked, leading to uncertainty in evaluating the performance of solid oxide fuel cells, including their limiting current density and concentration polarization. In this report, insightful analysis is performed to evaluate quantitatively the effects of thermal expansion-induced variation in the electrode thickness and tortuosity on gas transport in the porous electrodes of solid oxide fuel cells. The quantitative study demonstrates that thermal expansion-induced variation in tortuosity causes larger errors in limiting current density and concentration polarization at a high operating temperature and large working current density. Our work facilitates the realization of high-performance solid oxide fuel cells by accurate evaluation of concentration polarization.

Graphical abstract: Synergistic effects of thermal expansion-induced variation in the electrode microstructure on polarization loss in solid oxide fuel cells

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 Nov 2016
Accepted
29 Dec 2016
First published
30 Dec 2016

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017,5, 2768-2773

Synergistic effects of thermal expansion-induced variation in the electrode microstructure on polarization loss in solid oxide fuel cells

K. Wen, C. Tan and W. He, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017, 5, 2768 DOI: 10.1039/C6TA09738C

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