FURI | Spring 2019

Refinement of Electrolyte Materials for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Application

Over the course of this research, electrolyte materials for use in solid oxide fuel cells are investigated with the overall goal of making them a more viable renewable energy source. Ceramics such as pure and doped ceria and zirconia are investigated using computational chemistry methods. ASU’s super-computing servers are used to calculate the energy barriers to diffusion through each electrolyte. These values are then compared for each material to determine which would yield the least resistance and therefore be the best electrolyte. Thus far, the data suggests that the most effective material is thorium doped ceria.