Structural and electrochemical studies of triple conducting nanocomposites for energy conversion devices.

The entire world is facing an alarming situation of energy demands and environmental pollution. Single-layer fuel cells are attractive in the era of renewable energy. Developing the materials for single-layer fuel cells (SLFC) is challenging to overcome the low electrical conductivity and polarization losses. In the present research work, novel nanocomposites materials Li 0.1 Ni 0.6 Zn 0.3 O 3-δ (LNZ) have been synthesized by solid-state techniques and Sm 0.2 Ce 0.8 O 2-δ (SDC) via co-precipitation route. Additionally, the effect of 20 wt% of single (Na), binary (Li: Na), and ternary (Li:Na:K) alkali carbonates on the performance of SDC composite material have been analyzed. All novel nanocomposites LNZ + SDC, LNZ + N-SDC, LNZ + LN-SDC, and LNZ + LNK-SDC were milled with 60:40 ratios respectively. Composite material based on 60 wt% LNZ and 40 wt% LN-SDC showed maximum mixed electronic and ionic conductivity of 2.29 Scm−1 at 600 °C with power density of 435mWcm−2. The structural and morphological proprieties of prepared nanocomposite materials were studied using X-Ray diffraction and Scanning electron microscopy respectively. The average crystallite size of 34 nm was observed with LNZ + LN-SDC composite material. The conductivity measurements were done using four-probe techniques and results showed the immense potential of prepared materials for SLFC application. • Alkali carbonated has been developed for one component electrolyte-free fuel cell. • Crystallite size was found to be <100 nm. • The mix conductivity was achieved 2.29 Scm−1 for LNZ + LN-SDC. • The maximum power density was obtained 435 mWcm−2 for LNZ + LN-SDC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]