Influência do método de síntese e caracterização de pós compósitos de NiO- Ce1-xEuxO2-δ para anodos catalíticos de células a combustível

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that convert chemical energy into electricity. Due to the development of new materials, fuel cells are emerging as generating clean energy generator. Among the types of fuel cells, categorized according to the electrode type, the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) stand out due to be the only device entirely made of solid particles. Beyond that, their operation temperature is relatively high (between 500 and 1000 °C), allowing them to operate with high efficiency. Another aspect that promotes the use of SOFC over other cells is their ability to operate with different fuels. The CeO2 based materials doped with rare earth (TR+3) may be used as alternatives to traditional NiO-YSZ anodes as they have higher ionic conductivity and smaller ohmic losses compared to YSZ, and can operate at lower temperatures (500-800°C). In the composition of the anode, the concentration of NiO, acting as a catalyst in YSZ provides high electrical conductivity and high electrochemical activity of reactions, providing internal reform in the cell. In this work compounds of NiO - Ce1-xEuxO2-δ (x = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3) were synthesized from polymeric precursor, Pechini, method of combustion and also by microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The materials were characterized by the techniques of TG, TPR, XRD and FEG-SEM. The refinement of data obtained by X-ray diffraction showed that all powders of NiO - Cex-1EuxO2-δ crystallized in a cubic phase with fluorite structure, and also the presence of Ni. Through the characterizations can be proved that all routes of preparation used were effective for producing ceramics with characteristics suitable for application as SOFC anodes, but the microwave-assisted hydrothermal method showed a significant reduction in the average grain size and improved control of the compositions of the phases

Síntese pelo método pechini e caracterização da zircônia dopada com cério e neodímio

In this study five compositions were synthesized zirconia doped with cerium and neodymium ions in the system Ce10-xNdx Zr90O2 with 0,5 ≤ x ≤ 4,0 using the Pechini method. The powders were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis, infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, with application of Rietveld refinement of the calcination temperatures of 350ºC/3h and 30 minutes at 900ºC/3h. All compositions stabilized with a mixture of cubic and tetragonal phase zirconia. The samples were pressed into bars and sintered at 1500°C/3h and 1500°C/6h, being characterized by Xray diffraction, with application of the Rietveld refinement, density and porosity using Archimedes method, scanning electron microscopy and resistance the three point bending. It has been observed the increase in strength with increasing sintering temperature for the compositions x = 2,0 and x = 4,0. For x = 2,0 the main phase was the cubic with 92,56% with crystallite size of 0,56 μm, density and porosity of 96,82% from 1,36%. For x = 4,0 was a mixture of cubic and tetragonal phase with 21% and 37,98%, respectively. The crystallite size was 54,21 nm and 49,64 nm with a density porosity of 97,45% and 1,32% respectively. In the analysis of the fracture surface was observed a greater amount of grain fracture intragranular type, which contribute to increase the mechanical strength of the ceramic. Increased addition of the neodymium ion in the crystal lattice of the zirconium showed a nearly linear behavior with increasing mechanical strength of the zirconia ceramic. Was obtained a bending resistance of 537 ± 38 MPa for the composition x = 2,0 predominantly attributed to cubic phase with 92,56%