Performance study of proton conducting electrolytes based on BaZr1−xYxO3-δ for solid oxide electrolysis cell

For the purpose of realizing the high-performance BaZr1−xYxO3-δ (BZY) proton electrolyte materials for solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC), the influence of different contents of the transition metal oxide NiO on the performance of proton electrolyte BZY was studied. Specifically, BZY-x mol. % NiO (x = 0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3, named as BZY, BZY+0.5NiO, BZY+1NiO, BZY+2NiO and BZY+3NiO, respectively) composite electrolyte materials were prepared, as well as and their crystal structure, morphology and electrochemical properties were characterized. The results demonstrate that the composite NiO contributes to the effective improvement of the density of BZY prepared at 1400 ℃, significantly improving the proton conductivity of BZY, and facilitating the performance of BZY-based SOECs. Among them, 2 mol. % NiO-BZY has the optimal performance, the highest density, and the lowest electrochemical impedance. The SOEC based on BZY+ 2NiO electrolyte possesses the most satisfying electrochemical performance, indicating the optimum content of 2 mol. % NiO in this case.