The main objectives are:
i) To identify and test new hydrogen ion conducting oxides as candidates for use in high temperature sensors, fuel cells, electrolysers, chemical reactors and other electrochemical devices, to be applied in cleaner energy technologies based on natural gas and hydrogen. It is projected that better materials than those presently available will result form this colaborative effort;

ii) To study and understand the chemical states and mechanistic steps in the dissolution and transport of hydrogen in these systems, leading to better atomistic models;

iii) To test the electrocatalytic properties of these systems for hydrogen transfer reactions in laboratory microreactors. This issue is related to cost-effective production of chemicals and production of cleaner fuels from hydrocarbons using proton conducting ceramics.

The project will achieve these goals by bringing together eight leading groups with compementary expertise in synthesis, structural and chemical characterisation, transport property investigation, topochemistry, defect chemistry and computer modelling of high temperature proton conducting oxides. The included scientific references of the 8 teams document that the teams are at the frontline in solid state chemistry.

Highly specialised and expensive equipment is available in the various teams already now, before the project's start. Sharing this equipment and expertise is expected to bring valuable synergistic effects.

The systems to be investigated are perovskites and perovskite-related oxides, such as titanates, zirconates, cerates, niobates, tantalates, molybdates, tungstates and stannates. Special attention will be given to inherently oxygen-deficient phases such as brownmillerites and other complex perovskites, with the objective of identifying oxides that can be filled with high amounts of water/protons. Defective fluorite-type oxides appear to show behaviour contrasting that of perovskites and a minor study is included for the purpose of comparison.
A further positive outcome of this work could be a better understanding of protonic defects in high temperature ceramic superconductors. The project may also generate new electronic conductors with proton transport, which will impact on the development of mixed conducting membranes for hydrogen separation.