CHEN Xing ¹, PU Jiangge ¹, LIU Chao ¹, MA Zheng ¹, ZHOU Juan ¹, WANG Shaorong ²

(1. School of Energy and Power Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, Jiangsu, China; 2. School of Chemical Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, Jiangsu, China)

Abstract: Proton conducting solid oxide electrolysis cells (H-SOECs) have more advantages than oxygen ion conducting solid oxide electrolysis cells (O-SOECs). However, the development of H-SOECs lags far behind O-SOECs, due mainly to technical challenges such as the instability of electrolyte in an atmosphere containing H₂O and CO₂. The proton conducting electrolytes have attracted increasing attention, owing to their higher ionic conductivity and lower conducting activation energy at a medium temperature and the direct production of dry and pure hydrogen at the hydrogen gas side. This article is aimed to summarize the progress of proton conducting electrolyte materials of H-SOECs, focusing on the latest achievements and applications of BaCeO₃, BaZrO₃ and BaCeO₃-BaZrO₃ solid solutions, together with a discussion on prospects and potential research directions in the near future.
Key words: proton conductor; solid oxide electrolysis cells; electrolyte