A cool fuel cell

New research offers a way to operate solid oxide fuel cells, which could potentially provide electricity on an industrial scale, near room temperature instead of the blistering temperatures currently required, researchers report in the July 31 issue of Science. Solid oxide fuel cells use a solid ceramic compound as the electrolyte through which oxygen anions flow as they travel between electrodes, and they can efficiently convert a variety of fuels. But, they can only operate at high temperatures, above 700 degrees Celsius, which means longer start-up times and the potential for mechanical or chemical incompatibility with other parts of the cell. Javier Garcia-Barriocanal and colleagues in the United States and Spain developed an electrolyte consisting of ultrathin layers of yttria-stabilized zirconia sandwiched between thin layers of strontium titantae. This material permits a greater flow of oxygen anions through it than other solid oxide electrolytes, which should allow a fuel cell to operate at just above room temperatures.

ARTICLE #10: "Colossal Ionic Conductivity at the Interfaces of Epitaxial Zr02:Y203/SrTi03 Heterostructures," by J. Garcia-Barriocanal; A. Rivera-Calzada; Z. Sefrioui; C. Leon; J. Santamaria at Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Madrid, Spain; M. Varela; S.J. Pennycook at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN; E. Iborra at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in Madrid, Spain.