A Theoretical Model for the Triple Phase Boundary of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Electrospun Electrodes

Wei Kong,Mengtong Zhang,Qiang Zhang,Zhen Han

doi:10.3390/app9030493

Wei Kong, Mengtong Zhang + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/app9030493

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Journal: Applied sciences	Publication Date: Jan 31, 2019
Citations: 17	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Jiangsu University of Science and Technology

Abstract

Electrospinning is a new state-of-the-art technology for the preparation of electrodes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). Electrodes fabricated by this method have been proven to have an experimentally superior performance compared with traditional electrodes. However, the lack of a theoretic model for electrospun electrodes limits the understanding of their benefits and the optimization of their design. Based on the microstructure of electrospun electrodes and the percolation threshold, a theoretical model of electrospun electrodes is proposed in this study. Electrospun electrodes are compared to fibers with surfaces that were coated with impregnated particles. This model captures the key geometric parameters and their interrelationship, which are required to derive explicit expressions of the key electrode parameters. Furthermore, the length of the triple phase boundary (TPB) of the electrospun electrode is calculated based on this model. Finally, the effects of particle radius, fiber radius, and impregnation loading are studied. The theory model of the electrospun electrode TPB proposed in this study contributes to the optimization design of SOFC electrospun electrode.

Highlights

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) have received much attention over the last decade due to advantages, such as a high efficiency, quietness, multiple fuels, and the inexpensive catalyst nature [1,2,3,4]
A nanostructured electrode can be introduced to the SOFC, which can be achieved by impregnating nanoscale particles on the backbone surface of another phase [16,29]
A study was conducted to determine the effects of the impregnation loading, particle radius, and fiber radius on the triple phase boundary (TPB) length

Summary

A Theoretical Model for the Triple Phase Boundary of

Received: 31 December 2018; Accepted: 28 January 2019; Published: 31 January 2019. Featured Application: Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are one of the power-generated devices that have received much attention over the last decade due to advantages, such as a high efficiency, quietness, multiple fuels, and the inexpensive catalyst nature. To improve the performance of SOFC, the electrospun electrode is introduced to the SOFC, which can be achieved by impregnating nanoscale particles on the backbone surface of fibers. A theoretical model was developed for the electrospun electrode. This model captures the key geometric parameters and their interrelationships, which can be used to design the microstructure parameters, such as the particle radius, fiber radius, and impregnation loading

Introduction

Theoretical Model

The schematicdiagram diagram of

Results and Discussion

Conclusions