Jun Zhang

Project title: Triple-Conducting Electrocatalysts Enabling Miniaturized Solid Oxide Fuel Cells to Power Internet of Things (Triple-CAT)

Miniaturized solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) promise to provide longer and more reliable power than batteries. However, the development of such power sources is limited by the lack of catalysts that are active for the oxygen reduction reaction at temperatures of 300 °C-500 °C. In this project, we aim to identify new catalysts which conduct electrons/holes, oxygen ions and protons. Such triple-conducting catalysts can be used for cathodes of proton-conducting SOFCs (PCFCs). The project combines experimental and theoretical studies with a novel design principle for catalysts. A groundbreaking fuel cell with a high-power density up to 500 mW/cm2 at 400 °C is targeted. A self-designed in-situ impedance PLD (IPLD) technique was developed for accelerating the novel catalysts discovery. The in-situ electrochemical characterization can be performed during the PLD growth of the material. It can also combine advanced techniques of reflective high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), i.e. one equipment can provide various knowledge on film surface roughness, structural, electronic and electrochemical performance, providing reliable, reproducible, and comparable data.