Objective European community is investing many resources into renewable energy research to come off the fossil source dependence and to reduce carbon oxide emissions. Solid Oxide Fuel Cell is one of the more promising solutions thanks to its high energy conversion efficiency and fuel flexibility. The industrial expansion of ionic conductors as commercial devices for energy production, oxygen generation or gas sensors, is related to the development of new electrolyte materials with higher ionic conductivity. Recent investigations have demonstrated an important interface effect in multilayer’s thin films with an enhancement of the ionic conductivity of several orders of magnitude. Our project intends to investigate, by a fundamental point of view, the physical and chemical bases that regulate this super ionic behaviour. We propose two different approaches to study this interface effect. The first one consists on designing interfaces parallel to the substrate by multilayer PLD deposition; multilayers will be based on different materials as the mixed ionic electronic conductor La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Mg0.2O3-δ, or the δ phase Bi2O3 high oxygen ion conductor. The second one employs a nanolithography method to engineer ionic conductor interfaces perpendicular to the substrate which will be formed by ionic conductor YSZ columns embedded in a second thin film. In both strategies the use of different single crystal substrates will permit to tailor film stress tensile or compressive and the relative interface defect formations. Top class facilities as Titan HTEM and LEIS TOF SIMS will be essential to correlate defect formation, strain and dopant segregation to the interface effect in ionic conductivity enhancement. Nanolithography will be also utilized to design new dense nanocomposite cathodes formed by columns of an ionic conductor set into an electronic conductor thin film. This model system will offer new tools to investigate the interface effect on the cathodes’ oxygen reduction reaction Fields of science engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energyengineering and technologymaterials engineeringcoating and filmsengineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsfuel cellsengineering and technologymaterials engineeringnanocompositesengineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsenergy conversion Programme(s) FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IEF - Marie-Curie Action: "Intra-European fellowships for career development" Call for proposal FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IEF See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MC-IEF - Intra-European Fellowships (IEF) Coordinator IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE Address South kensington campus exhibition road SW7 2AZ London United Kingdom See on map Region London Inner London — West Westminster Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Shaun Power (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window EU contribution No data
