Preparação e caracterização de filmes cerâmicos para cátodos de células a combustível de óxido sólido

Alternative and clean energy generation research has been intensified in last decades. Among the alternatives, fuel cells are one of the most important. There are different types of fuel cells, among which stands out intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) matter of the present work. For application as cathode on this type of devices, the ceramic Ba0.5Sr0.5C0.8Fe0.2O3-δ doped with rare earth ions (Nd, Sm) have been quite promising because they show good ionic conductivity and operate at relatively low temperatures (500 - 800°C). In this work, Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ, (BaSr)0.5Sm0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ and (BaSr)0.5Nd0.5C0.8Fe0.2O3-δ were obtained by modified Pechini method, making use of gelatin as polymerizing agent. The powders were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The perovskite phase was observed in all X-ray patterns for the materials Ba0.5Sr0.5C0.8Fe0.2O3-δ doped with rare earth ions (Nd, Sm). The SEM images showed that the materials have a characteristics porous, with very uniform pore distribution, which are favorable for application as cathodes. Subsequently, screen-printed assymmetrical cells were studied by impedance spectroscopy, to assess the kinetics of the cathode for the reduction reaction of oxygen. The best resistance to the specific area was found for the cathode BSSCF sintered at 1050 °C for 4 hours with around 0.15 Ω.cm2 at 750 °C as well as cathodes BSNCF and BSCF obtained resistances specific area of 0.2 and 0.73 Ω.cm2, respectively, for the same conditions. The polarization curves showed similar behavior to the best cathodes BSSCF and BSNCF, such combination of properties indicates that the film potentially depict good performance as IT-SOFC cathodes

Estudo da sinterização de eletrólito sólido de céria dopada com gadolínia

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert chemical energy in electrical energy by a reaction directly. The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) works in temperature between 900ºC up to 1000ºC, Nowadays the most material for ceramic electrolytes is yttria stabilized zirconium. However, the high operation temperature can produce problems as instability and incompatibility of materials, thermal degradation and high cost of the surround materials. These problems can be reduced with the development of intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) that works at temperature range of 600ºC to 800ºC. Ceria doped gadolinium is one of the most promising materials for electrolytes IT-SOFC due high ionic conductivity and good compatibility with electrodes. The inhibition of grain growth has been investigated during the sintering to improve properties of electrolytes. Two-step sintering (TSS) is an interesting technical to inhibit this grain growth and consist at submit the sample at two stages of temperature. The first one stage aims to achieve the critical density in the initiating the sintering process, then the sample is submitted at the second stage where the temperature sufficient to continue the sintering without accelerate grain growth until to reach total densification. The goal of this work is to produce electrolytes of ceria doped gadolinium by two-step sintering. In this context were produced samples from micrometric and nanometric powders by two routes of two-step sintering. The samples were obtained with elevate relative density, higher than 90% using low energy that some works at the same area. The average grain size are at the range 0,37 μm up to 0,51 μm. The overall ionic conductivity is 1,8x10-2 S.cm and the activation energy is 0,76 eV. Results shown that is possible to obtain ceria-doped gadolinium samples by two-step sintering technique using modified routes with characteristics and properties necessary to apply as electrolytes of solid oxide fuel cell

Caracterização dos eletrocatalisadores LaMnO3, LaFeO3, LaFe0,2Mn0,8O3 E La0,5Fe0,5MnO3 preparados por autocombustão assistida por microondas para cátodos de células a combustível do tipo SOFC

Materials consisting of perovskite-type oxides (ABO3) have been developed in this work for applications in fuel cell cathodes of solid oxide type (SOFC). These ceramic materials are widely studied for this type of application because they have excellent electrical properties, conductivity and electrocatalytic. The oxides LaMnO3, LaFeO3, LaFe0.2Mn0.8O3 e La0.5Fe0.5MnO3 were synthesized by the method of microwave assisted combustion and after sintering at 800°C in order to obtain the desired phases. The powders were characterized by thermogravimetry (TG), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and voltammetric analysis (cyclic voltammetry and polarization curves). The results obtained by XRF technique showed that the microwave synthesis method was effective in obtaining doping oxides with values near stoichiometric. In general, powders were obtained with particle size less than 0.5 μm, having a porous structure and uniform particle size distribution. The particles showed spherical form, irregular and crowded of varying sizes, according to the analysis of SEM. The behavior of the oxides opposite the thermal stability was monitored by thermogravimetric curves (TG), which showed low weight loss values for all samples, especially those of manganese had its structure. By means of Xray diffraction of the samples sintered at 800°C was possible to observe the formation of powders having high levels of crystallinity. Furthermore, undesirable phases such as La2O3 and MnOx were not identified in the diffractograms. These phases block the transport of oxygen ions in the electrode/electrolyte interface, affecting the electrochemical activity of the system. The voltammetric analysis of the electrocatalysts LF-800, LM-800, LF2M8-800 e L5F5M-800 revealed that these materials are excellent electrical conductors, because it increased the passage of electrical current of the working electrode significantly. Best performance for the oxygen reduction reaction was observed with iron-rich structures, considering that the materials obtained have characteristics suitable for use in fuel cell cathodes of solid oxide type

Síntese, caracterização e estudo das propriedades magnéticas de ortoferritas de lantânio dopadas com manganês

Orthoferrites AFeO3 (A = rare earth) are an important class of perovskite oxides that exhibit weak ferromagnetism. These materials find numerous applications as chemical sensors, cathodes for fuel cells and catalysis, which make them interesting from the standpoint of science and technology. Their structural, electrical and magnetic properties are dependent on many factors such as the preparation method, heat treatment conditions, chemical composition and replacement of cations in sites A and/or B. In this paper, LaFe1-xMnxO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) orthoferrites-type was prepared by Pechini method and Microwave-assisted combustion reaction in order to evaluate the influence of synthesis route on the formation of oxide, as well as the effect of parcial replacement of iron by manganese and heat treatment on the magnetic properties. The precursor powders were calcined at 700°C, 900°C, 1100°C and 1300°C for 4 hours and they were characterized by the techniques: Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X ray diffraction (XRD), Refinement by Rietveld method, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Reduction temperature programmed (RTP) and Magnetic hysteresis measurements performed at room temperature. According to the XRD patterns, the formation of perovskite phase with orthorhombic structure was observed for the systems where 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5 and rhombohedral for x = 1. The results also showed a decrease of lattice parameters with the parcial replacement of iron by manganese and consequently a reduction in cell volume. The hysteresis curves exhibited weak ferromagnetism for the systems prepared by both synthesis methods. However, a dependence of magnetization as a function of dopant content was observed for samples produced by Pechini method. As for the systems prepared by combustion reaction, it was found that the secondary phases exert a strong influence on the magnetic behavior

Compósitos NiO-CGO obtidos pelo método de síntese em uma etapa

Composite NiO-C0.9Gd0.1O1.95 (NiO-GDC), one of the materials most used for the manufacture of anodes of Cells Solid Oxide Fuel (SOFC) currently, were obtained by a chemical route which consists in mixing the precursor solution of NiO and CGO phases obtained previously by the Pechini method. The nanopowders as-obtained were characterized by thermal analysis techniques (thermogravimetry and Differential Scanning Calorimetry) and calcined materials were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Samples sintered between 1400 and 1500 ° C for 4 h were characterized by Archimedes method. The effects of the composition on the microstructure and electrical properties (conductivity and activation energy) of the composites sintered at 1500 ° C were investigated by electron microscopy and impedance spectroscopy (between 300 and 650 ° C in air). The refinement of the XRD data indicated that the powders are ultrafine and the crystallite size of the CGO phase decreases with increasing content of NiO. Similarly, the crystallite of the NiO phase tends to decrease with increasing concentration of CGO, especially above 50 wt % CGO. Analysis by Archimedes shows a variation in relative density due to the NiO content. Densities above 95% were obtained in samples containing from 50 wt % NiO and sintered between 1450 and 1500 °C. The results of microscopy and impedance spectroscopy indicate that from 30-40 wt.% NiO there is an increase in the number of contacts NiO - NiO, activating the electronic conduction mechanism which governs the process of conducting at low temperatures (300 - 500 °C). On the other hand, with increasing the measuring temperature the mobility of oxygen vacancies becomes larger than that of the electronic holes of NiO, as a result, the high temperature conductivity (500-650 ° C) in composites containing up to 30-40 wt.% of NiO is lower than that of CGO. Variations in activation energy confirm change of conduction mechanism with the increase of the NiO content. The composite containing 50 wt. % of each phase shows conductivity of 19 mS/cm at 650 °C (slightly higher than 13 mS/cm found for CGO) and activation energy of 0.49 eV.

Desenvolvimento de material BaCexPr1-xO3 (0 ≤ X ≤ 1) com estrutura perovskita para oxidação catalítica do CO a CO2 em reator de leito fixo

Barium Cerate (BaCeO3) is perovskite type structure of ABO3, wherein A and B are metal cations. These materials, or doped, have been studied by having characteristics that make them promising for the application in fuel cells solid oxide, hydrogen and oxygen permeation, as catalysts, etc .. However, as the ceramic materials mixed conductivity have been produced by different synthesis methods, some conditions directly influence the final properties, one of the most important doping Site B, which may have direct influence on the crystallite size, which in turn directly influences their catalytic activity. In this study, perovskite-type (BaCexO3) had cerium gradually replaced by praseodymium to obtain ternary type materials BaCexPr1-xO3 and BaPrO3 binaries. These materials were synthesized by EDTA/Citrate complexing method and the material characterized via XRD, SEM and BET for the identification of their structure, morphology and surface area. Moreover were performed on all materials, catalytic test in a fixed bed reactor for the identification of that person responsible for complete conversion of CO to CO2 at low operating temperature, which step can be used as the subsequent production of synthesis gas (CO + H2) from methane oxidation. In the present work the crystalline phase having the orthorhombic structure was obtained for all compositions, with a morphology consisting of agglomerated particles being more pronounced with increasing praseodymium in the crystal structure. The average crystal size was between 100 nm and 142,2 nm. The surface areas were 2,62 m²g-1 for the BaCeO3 composition, 3,03 m²g-1 to BaCe0,5Pr0,5O3 composition and 2,37 m²g-1 to BaPrO3 composition. Regarding the catalytic tests, we can conclude that the optimal flow reactor operation was 50 ml / min and the composition regarding the maximum rate of conversion to the lowest temperature was BaCeO3 to 400° C. Meanwhile, there was found that the partially replaced by praseodymium, cerium, there was a decrease in the catalytic activity of the material.

Estudo da viabilidade do sistema LZAS para uso como selante de PaCOS

Cells the solid oxide fuel are systems capable to directly convert energy of a chemical reaction into electric energy in clean, quiet way and if its components in the solid state differentiate of excessively the techniques for having all. Its more common geometric configurations are: the tubular one and to glide. Geometry to glide beyond the usual components (anode, cathode and electrolyte) needs interconnect and sealant. E the search for materials adjusted for these components is currently the biggest challenge found for the production of the cells. The sealants need to present chemical stability in high temperatures, to provoke electric isolation, to have coefficient of compatible thermal expansion with the excessively component ones. For presenting these characteristics the glass-ceramics materials are recommended for the application. In this work the study of the partial substitution of the ZrO2 for the Al2O3 in system LZS became it aiming at the formation of system LZAS, this with the addition of natural spodumene with 10, 20 and 30% in mass. The compositions had been casting to a temperature of 1500°C and later quickly cooled with the objective to continue amorphous. Each composition was worn out for attainment of a dust with average diameter of approximately 3μm and characterized by the techniques of DRX, FRX, MEV, dilatometric analysis and particle size analysis. Later the samples had been conformed and treated thermally with temperatures in the interval between 700-1000 °C, with platform of 10 minutes and 1 hour. The analyses for the treated samples had been: dilatometric analysis, DRX, FRX, electrical conductivity and tack. The results point with respect to the viability of the use of system LZAS for use as sealant a time that had presented good results as isolating electric, they had adhered to a material with similar α of the components of a SOFC and had presented steady crystalline phases

Caracterização microestrutural e elétrica de La(FexNi1-x)O3 sintetizado pelo método da gelatina

The present work deals with the synthesis of materials with perovskite structure with the intention of using them as cathodes in fuel cells SOFC type. The perovskite type materials were obtained by chemical synthesis method, using gelatin as the substituent of citric acid and ethylene glycol, and polymerizing acting as chelating agent. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis, spectroscopy Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy with EDS, surface area determination by the BET method and Term Reduction Program, TPR. The compounds were also characterized by electrical conductivity for the purpose of observing the possible application of this material as a cathode for fuel cells, solid oxide SOFC. The method using gelatin and polymerizing chelating agent for the preparation of materials with the perovskite structure allows the synthesis of crystalline materials and homogeneous. The results demonstrate that the route adopted to obtain materials were effective. The distorted perovskite structure have obtained the type orthorhombic and rhombohedral; important for fuel cell cathodes. The presentation material properties required of a candidate cathode materials for fuel cells. XRD analysis contacted by the distortion of the structures of the synthesized materials. The analyzes show that the electrical conductivity obtained materials have the potential to act as a cell to the cathode of solid oxide fuel, allowing to infer an order of values for the electrical conductivities of perovskites where LaFeO3 < LaNiO3 < LaNi0,5Fe0,5O3. It can be concluded that the activity of these perovskites is due to the presence of structural defects generated that depend on the method of synthesis and the subsequent heat treatment

Preparação e caracterização de filmes cerâmicos para cátodos de células a combustível de óxido sólido

Alternative and clean energy generation research has been intensified in last decades. Among the alternatives, fuel cells are one of the most important. There are different types of fuel cells, among which stands out intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) matter of the present work. For application as cathode on this type of devices, the ceramic Ba0.5Sr0.5C0.8Fe0.2O3-δ doped with rare earth ions (Nd, Sm) have been quite promising because they show good ionic conductivity and operate at relatively low temperatures (500 - 800°C). In this work, Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ, (BaSr)0.5Sm0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ and (BaSr)0.5Nd0.5C0.8Fe0.2O3-δ were obtained by modified Pechini method, making use of gelatin as polymerizing agent. The powders were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The perovskite phase was observed in all X-ray patterns for the materials Ba0.5Sr0.5C0.8Fe0.2O3-δ doped with rare earth ions (Nd, Sm). The SEM images showed that the materials have a characteristics porous, with very uniform pore distribution, which are favorable for application as cathodes. Subsequently, screen-printed assymmetrical cells were studied by impedance spectroscopy, to assess the kinetics of the cathode for the reduction reaction of oxygen. The best resistance to the specific area was found for the cathode BSSCF sintered at 1050 °C for 4 hours with around 0.15 Ω.cm2 at 750 °C as well as cathodes BSNCF and BSCF obtained resistances specific area of 0.2 and 0.73 Ω.cm2, respectively, for the same conditions. The polarization curves showed similar behavior to the best cathodes BSSCF and BSNCF, such combination of properties indicates that the film potentially depict good performance as IT-SOFC cathodes

Estudo da sinterização de eletrólito sólido de céria dopada com gadolínia

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert chemical energy in electrical energy by a reaction directly. The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) works in temperature between 900ºC up to 1000ºC, Nowadays the most material for ceramic electrolytes is yttria stabilized zirconium. However, the high operation temperature can produce problems as instability and incompatibility of materials, thermal degradation and high cost of the surround materials. These problems can be reduced with the development of intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) that works at temperature range of 600ºC to 800ºC. Ceria doped gadolinium is one of the most promising materials for electrolytes IT-SOFC due high ionic conductivity and good compatibility with electrodes. The inhibition of grain growth has been investigated during the sintering to improve properties of electrolytes. Two-step sintering (TSS) is an interesting technical to inhibit this grain growth and consist at submit the sample at two stages of temperature. The first one stage aims to achieve the critical density in the initiating the sintering process, then the sample is submitted at the second stage where the temperature sufficient to continue the sintering without accelerate grain growth until to reach total densification. The goal of this work is to produce electrolytes of ceria doped gadolinium by two-step sintering. In this context were produced samples from micrometric and nanometric powders by two routes of two-step sintering. The samples were obtained with elevate relative density, higher than 90% using low energy that some works at the same area. The average grain size are at the range 0,37 μm up to 0,51 μm. The overall ionic conductivity is 1,8x10-2 S.cm and the activation energy is 0,76 eV. Results shown that is possible to obtain ceria-doped gadolinium samples by two-step sintering technique using modified routes with characteristics and properties necessary to apply as electrolytes of solid oxide fuel cell

Síntese e caracterização de NiO-CGO para anodo e eletrólitos sólidos e base de Céria para SOFC

The direct use of natural gas makes the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) potentially more competitive with the current energy conversions technologies. The Intermediate Temperature SOFC (IT-SOFC) offer several advantages over the High Temperature SOFC (HT-SOFC), which includes better thermal compatibility among components, fast start with lower energy consumption, manufacture and operation cost reduction. The CeO2 based materials are alternatives to the Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) to application in SOFC, as they have higher ionic conductivity and less ohmic losses comparing to YSZ, and they can operate at lower temperatures (500-800°C). Ceria has been doped with a variety of cations, although, the Gd3+ has the ionic radius closest to the ideal one to form solid solution. These electrolytes based in ceria require special electrodes with a higher performance and chemical and termomechanical compatibility. In this work compounds of gadolinia-doped ceria, Ce1-xGdxO2-δ (x = 0,1; 0,2 and 0,3), used as electrolytes, were synthesized by polymeric precursors method, Pechini, as well as the composite material NiO - Ce0,9Gd0,1O1,95, used as anode, also attained by oxide mixture method, mixturing the powders of the both phases calcinated already. The materials were characterized by X ray diffraction, dilatometry and scanning electronic microscopy. The refinement of the diffraction data indicated that all the Ce1-xGdxO2-δ powders were crystallized in a unique cubic phase with fluorite structure, and the composite synthesized by Pechini method produced smaller crystallite size in comparison with the same material attained by oxide mixture method. All the produced powders had nanometric characteristics. The composite produced by Pechini method has microstructural characteristics that can increase the triple phase boundaries (TPB) in the anode, improving the cell efficiency, as well as reducing the mass transport mechanism effect that provokes anode degradation

Sinterização de Ce1-XEuXO2-(X/2) para aplicação como eletrólito sólido em células a combustível de temperaturas intermediárias

Given the environmental concern over global warming that occurs mainly by emission of CO2 from the combustion of petroleum, coal and natural gas research focused on alternative and clean energy generation has been intensified. Among these, the highlight the solid oxide fuel cell intermediate temperature (IT-SOFC). For application as electrolyte of the devices doped based CeO2 with rare earth ions (TR+ 3) have been quite promising because they have good ionic conductivity and operate at relatively low temperatures (500-800 ° C). In this work, studied the Ce1-xEuxO2-δ (x = 0,1, 0,2 and 0,3), solid solutions synthesized by the polymeric precursor method to be used as solid electrolyte. It was also studied the processing steps of these powders (milling, compaction and two step sintering) in order to obtain dense sintered pellets with reduced grain size and homogeneous microstructure. For this, the powders were characterized by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, particle size distribution and scanning electrons microscopy, since the sintered samples were characterized by dilatometry, scanning electrons microscopy, density and grain size measurements. By x-ray diffraction, it was verified the formation of the solid solution for all compositions. Crystallites in the nanometric scale were found for both sintering routes but the two step sintering presented significant reduction in the average grain size

Síntese e caracterização de NiO-CGO para anodo e eletrólitos sólidos e base de Céria para SOFC

The direct use of natural gas makes the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) potentially more competitive with the current energy conversions technologies. The Intermediate Temperature SOFC (IT-SOFC) offer several advantages over the High Temperature SOFC (HT-SOFC), which includes better thermal compatibility among components, fast start with lower energy consumption, manufacture and operation cost reduction. The CeO2 based materials are alternatives to the Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) to application in SOFC, as they have higher ionic conductivity and less ohmic losses comparing to YSZ, and they can operate at lower temperatures (500-800°C). Ceria has been doped with a variety of cations, although, the Gd3+ has the ionic radius closest to the ideal one to form solid solution. These electrolytes based in ceria require special electrodes with a higher performance and chemical and termomechanical compatibility. In this work compounds of gadolinia-doped ceria, Ce1-xGdxO2-δ (x = 0,1; 0,2 and 0,3), used as electrolytes, were synthesized by polymeric precursors method, Pechini, as well as the composite material NiO - Ce0,9Gd0,1O1,95, used as anode, also attained by oxide mixture method, mixturing the powders of the both phases calcinated already. The materials were characterized by X ray diffraction, dilatometry and scanning electronic microscopy. The refinement of the diffraction data indicated that all the Ce1-xGdxO2-δ powders were crystallized in a unique cubic phase with fluorite structure, and the composite synthesized by Pechini method produced smaller crystallite size in comparison with the same material attained by oxide mixture method. All the produced powders had nanometric characteristics. The composite produced by Pechini method has microstructural characteristics that can increase the triple phase boundaries (TPB) in the anode, improving the cell efficiency, as well as reducing the mass transport mechanism effect that provokes anode degradation

Sinterização de Ce1-XEuXO2-(X/2) para aplicação como eletrólito sólido em células a combustível de temperaturas intermediárias

Given the environmental concern over global warming that occurs mainly by emission of CO2 from the combustion of petroleum, coal and natural gas research focused on alternative and clean energy generation has been intensified. Among these, the highlight the solid oxide fuel cell intermediate temperature (IT-SOFC). For application as electrolyte of the devices doped based CeO2 with rare earth ions (TR+ 3) have been quite promising because they have good ionic conductivity and operate at relatively low temperatures (500-800 ° C). In this work, studied the Ce1-xEuxO2-δ (x = 0,1, 0,2 and 0,3), solid solutions synthesized by the polymeric precursor method to be used as solid electrolyte. It was also studied the processing steps of these powders (milling, compaction and two step sintering) in order to obtain dense sintered pellets with reduced grain size and homogeneous microstructure. For this, the powders were characterized by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, particle size distribution and scanning electrons microscopy, since the sintered samples were characterized by dilatometry, scanning electrons microscopy, density and grain size measurements. By x-ray diffraction, it was verified the formation of the solid solution for all compositions. Crystallites in the nanometric scale were found for both sintering routes but the two step sintering presented significant reduction in the average grain size