Conformally coated scaffold design using water-tolerant Pr₁.₈Ba₀.₂NiO₄.₁ for protonic ceramic electrochemical cells with 5,000-h electrolysis stability

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Tian, Hanchen ; Li, Wei ; Lee, Yueh-Lin ; Zheng, Hongkui ; Li, Qingyuan ; Ma, Liang ; Bhattacharyya, Debangsu ; Chen, Xiujuan ; Zhang, Dawei ; Li, Guosheng ; Wang, Yi ; Li, Li ; Wang, Qingsong ; Xia, Fang ; Kartal, Muhammet ; Shao, Zhuozhao ; Rowles, Matthew R. ; Li, Wenyuan ; Saidi, Wissam A. ; Liu, Cijie ; Li, Xuemei ; Luo, Jian ; Li, Xiaolin ; He, Kai ; Liu, Xingbo:
Conformally coated scaffold design using water-tolerant Pr₁.₈Ba₀.₂NiO₄.₁ for protonic ceramic electrochemical cells with 5,000-h electrolysis stability.
In: Nature Energy. Bd. 10 (2025) Heft 7 . - S. 890-903.
ISSN 2058-7546
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-025-01800-1

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Abstract

Protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (PCECs) have potential as long-duration energy storage systems. However, their operational stability is limited under industrially relevant conditions due to the intrinsic chemical instability of doped barium cerate-based electrolytes and oxygen electrodes against H2O, as well as the poor electrode–electrolyte interfacial contact. Here we present a conformally coated scaffold (CCS) design to comprehensively address these issues. A porous proton-conducting scaffold is constructed and conformally coated with Pr1.8Ba0.2NiO4.1 electrocatalyst, which has high chemical stability against H2O, triple conductivity and hydration capability, and protects vulnerable electrolytes from H2O. The CCS structure consolidates the electrode–electrolyte interfacial bonding to enable fast proton transfer in the percolated network. This design enables PCECs to reach electrolysis stability for 5,000 h at −1.5 A cm−2 and 600 °C in 40% H2O. This work provides a general strategy to stabilize PCECs and offers guidance for designing resilient and stable solid-state energy storage systems.