Oxygen Ions for Fuel Cells Get Loose at Low Temperatures

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Researchers determined that a new material for fuel cells releases oxygen ions easily at low temperatures because many of the oxygen ionsmarked here as O4are not closely bound to the materials crystal framework. Credit: X. Kuang University of Liverpo ...
Researchers determined that a new material for fuel cells releases oxygen ions easily at low temperatures because many of the oxygen ions—marked here as O4—are not closely bound to the material's crystal framework. Credit: X. Kuang, University of Liverpool

Seeking to understand a new fuel cell material, a research team working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in collaboration with the University of Liverpool, has uncovered a novel structure that moves oxygen ions through the cell at substantially lower temperatures than previously thought possible. The finding announced this month in Nature Materials may be key to solving fuel cell reliability issues and lead to reduced operating costs in high-performance stationary fuel cells.



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