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Cubic Zirconia Diamonds To Fuel Your Car and Home?! Don't Laugh, Might Just Happen!
PhysOrg.com reports that using specialized cubic zirconia, scientists from Nanjing Normal University in China and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory designed a membrane that could allow solid oxide fuel cells to operate at lower temperatures and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. This new membrane, created by adding scandium to cubic zirconia, passes oxygen faster and at temperatures far lower than the more common yttria-stabilized zirconia.
Affordable fuel cells could reduce the need for imported oil. However, solid oxide fuel cells currently don't fit the budget of most homeowners. The cost is tied to the internal temperature of the cell, around 1000 degrees Celsius. This temperature means the cell must be built using very durable, very expensive ceramics. Lower temperatures mean the cells could be built from stainless steel and other less expensive materials. The trick to dropping the temperature, and thus the cost, is the membrane or solid electrolyte that quickly passes oxygen from one side of the cell to the other.
In this study, the scientists investigated why some materials are better than others at passing oxygen along.
Using oxygen-plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy, the researchers grew scandia-stabilized zirconia films on sapphire substrates. The films were examined using x-ray diffraction, electron spectroscopy, and microscopy.
Theoretical calculations and models were applied to the experimental data. Results showed that the nanoscale, nanosecond interactions occurring in the scandia-doped cubic zirconia film conducted oxygen faster than the yttrium doping in current electrolytes.
Cubic Zirconia? WOW!!!
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