Proton conducting ceramics:Closing the gap between high temperature and low temperature fuel cells

Solid oxide proton conductors offer a new intermediate temperature fuel cell technology combining the advantages of polymeric fuel cells and solid oxide fuel cells. Among potential proton conductor materials, yttrium-substituted barium zirconate (BaZr0.9Y0.1O3-δ) is a promising candidate. The influence of processing parameters on the proton conductivity was addressed in a study to evaluate the performance of this material as a fuel cell electrolyte.