News and Events
Fall 2009 Seminars
Development of High Performance Anodes and Cathodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
John Vohs
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
University of Pennsylvania
Thursday, October 22, 2009
10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
102 Chemistry Building
Abstract
Recently there has been much interest in the use of fuel cells for the generation of electrical power.
This interest stems from their inherent high efficiencies which makes them more environmentally friendly than many conventional power generation systems.
While fuel cells hold much promise, there are still many technical hurdles that need to be overcome before they can be introduced into commercial applications.
Research in our group has been focusing on overcoming some of these hurdles and we are studying ways to improve the performance and durability of the electrodes that are used in solid oxide fuel cells.
In this talk I will first give an overview of the conventional materials that are used as electrocatalysts for both the anode and cathode in a solid oxide fuel cell and discuss the limitations of these systems. I will then describe the approaches we are using to overcome these limitations and our research on the development of high-performance anodes and cathodes that are fuel flexible and can operate over a wide range of conditions. Our approach to electrode design involves impregnating a porous matrix composed of the yttria-stabilized zirconia electrolyte with materials that have been optimized for both their catalytic and electronic properties. The influence of the microstructure of the electrode on catalytic performance will also be discussed.