Proton conductivity in fuel cells with solid sulphate electrolytes

Abstract

Fuel cell and concentration cell experiments have been carried out with various solid sulphates as the solid electrolyte. Platinum, nickel sponge and some perovskites are found to be good alternatives as electrode materials. It is evident that proton conductivity is dominating in the studied cells, while it still is an open question whether there also can be a certain contribution from oxygen ion conductivity. Although the electrodes are blocking for Li +, Na +, etc., there are correlations between the fuel cell currents and the electrical conductivity of the salt. The observed phenomena are not limited to sulphates but occur also for other salts, such as phosphates.