Effect of impregnation phases on the performance of Ni-based anodes for low temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Impregnated nanoparticles are very effective in improving the electrochemical performance of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anodes possibly due to the extension of reaction sites and/or the enhancement of catalytic activity. In this work, samaria-doped ceria (SDC), pure ceria, samaria, and alumina oxides impregnated Ni-based anodes are fabricated to compare the site extending and the catalytic effects. Except for alumina, the impregnation of the other three nano-sized oxides could substantially enhance the performance of the anodes for the hydrogen oxidation reactions. Moreover, single cells with CeO₂ and Sm₂O₃ impregnated anodes could exhibit as great performance as those with SDC impregnated anodes. When the impregnation loading reached the optimal value, 1.7 mmol cm⁻³, these cells exhibit very high performance, with peak power densities around 750 mW cm⁻². The high performance of CeO₂ and Sm₂O₃ impregnated anodes demonstrates that the improved performance are mainly attributed to the significantly improved electrochemical activities of the anodes, but not to the extension of triple-phase-boundary, and wet impregnation is indeed an alternative and effective technique to introduce these nano-sized catalytic active oxides into the anode configuration of SOFCs to enhance cell performance, stability and reliability.     

主族元素掺杂对SmCo5合金结构和磁性能影响的第一性原理计算

建立了以Al、Ga、In、Sn等元素为例的主族元素掺杂SmCo₅合金的计算模型,基于第一性原理结合统计热力学方法研究了添加元素本征特性、掺杂浓度和温度对合金物相结构和磁学性能的影响。计算结果表明,主族元素的优先占位受元素理化性质和掺杂体系占位空间大小两方面的影响;Al和Ga的添加有利于SmCo₅体系保持结构稳定性,且Al的占位概率随温度变化不明显,适用于较宽的温度范围。几种主族元素添加均削弱SmCo₅体系的总磁矩,而In掺杂体系具有相对较大的总磁矩,主要原因是In原子半径较大,引起掺杂体系晶格畸变,使In周围次近邻的Co原子出现磁矩增大的现象,对体系的总磁矩下降具有弥补作用。基于计算结果分析优选出利于SmCo₅体系结构稳定性和磁性能的主族元素Al和In,且预测了Al和In的最佳掺杂浓度范围。     

一种钴基耐磨材料的高温氧化行为研究

研究了NbC颗粒增强钴基耐磨材料在950～1050℃空气中的氧化行为。合金在950℃下属于抗氧化级，1000℃下属于次抗氧化级，1050℃下属于弱抗氧化级，氧化动力学曲线基本符合抛物线规律。合金表面形成由CoCr₂O₄、CoNb₂O₆、Cr₂O₃和Al₂O₃组成的混合氧化物层，基体中块状NbC的优先原位氧化行为造成氧化层厚度不均匀且疏松多孔。经过1050℃，100 h氧化后，氧化层下方基体中形成贫Cr层，导致氧化皮剥落后无法重新形成具有保护作用的连续氧化膜。