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| Home > Publications database > Operando X-ray Diffraction and Spectroscopy of Solid Oxide Electrolyser Cells |
| Conference Presentation (After Call) | FZJ-2024-04985 |
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2024
Abstract: Solid Oxide Electrolyser Cells (SOEC) can achieve unrivalled efficiency in converting renewable electrical energy to hydrogen and therefore are an indispensable part of our transition to a sustainable energy economy, but the technology is not yet fully developed. One approach to improve the performance of SOEC is using gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) as electrolyte, since its higher ionic conductivity compared to the current standard, yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ), allows significantly higher electrolysis currents at a given voltage. However, GDC suffers from electrochemical expansion upon reduction; with pO2 as low as 10–19 Pa at the fuel electrode-electrolyte interface, this expansion can lead to cell cracking, limiting its lifetime. In order to design a cell that can withstand such effects, it is necessary to precisely characterize the electrochemical expansion under cathodic bias. To achieve this, we have developed an in situ cell for investigating the electrochemical expansion of GDC at relevant temperatures, in reducing gas atmosphere and with applied cathodic bias simultaneously. In our setup, the SOEC is mounted between the air compartment, which houses a heater, and the fuel compartment, which features an X-ray window for diffraction and spectroscopy. The cell is electrically contacted from both sides to monitor the cell voltage and determine the cathode overpotential. In conjunction with the X-ray techniques, operational temperature of up to 800 °C and separate air and water/hydrogen atmospheres for the air and fuel electrodes, allow conducting operando experiments on real working SOEC.
Keyword(s): Energy (1st) ; Chemistry (2nd) ; Instrument and Method Development (2nd) ; Crystallography (2nd)
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