Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) using industrial grade mixed rare-earth oxide electrolytes

This work reports on solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) based on abundant natural resources of industrial grade mixed rare-earth carbonates and composites. The materials possessed natural compositions and nano-scale particles. The electrolytes made from these materials were able to achieve excellent fuel cell performances, 300–800 mW/cm2, at low temperatures (LT: 300–600 °C). Ionic transport mechanism, two-phase interface functions and composite role in electrolytes as well as resulted advanced fuel cell performances are discussed.