Nano-material for Fuel Cells Application

Pie with cost breakdown in SOFC

Nano-structured materials can enhance electrochemical properties of electrodes and electrolyte assembling for fuel cells application. Catalytic and transport (electronic and ionic) behaviors are improved by controlling the materials morphology and homogeneity. Soft chemistry is the most promising technology to achieve those characteristics.

Moreover wet chemistry, often called "chemical way", is expected to increase the homogeneity of the product because mixing reagents is made at the molecular level, in solution. The resulting oxide powders have a high specific surface area and, consequently, have a high reactivity that decreases the final temperature treatment and time of synthesis.

Gel Mechanism Example

Pirelli Labs has applied competences developed in the field of soft chemistry (sol gel, co-precipitation…) to produce powder precursors for solid oxide MEA fabrication. The activity in this field is aimed to develop anode CERMET (Ceramic/Metallic Composite) compositions for direct oxidation of fuels, avoiding the preliminary gas treatment of reforming. In this way, those materials' implementation can produce a significant impact on the cost over performances behavior of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) systems. One of the innovative sol-gel approaches of Pirelli Labs is based on free radical change-growths polymerization process.

This powder production process is characterized by good reproducibility, lower cost, lower toxicity and easy scale-up respect to standard sol-gel approach.

TEM imaging of the Ce1-xGdxO2-x/2 nanopowders synthesized at 500°C in air for 2 h

TEM imaging of the calcined (Ni,Cu)O nanopowders at 500°C in air