FCE power plants for Japanese telecoms, US Marines

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 83 KB
• Volume: 2006
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1464-2859
• DOI: 10.1016/s1464-2859(06)71163-4

✦ Synopsis

Northwestern team produces 3D images of fuel cells

I n the US, a research team led by Scott Barnett, professor of materials science and engineering at Northwestern University in Illinois, has produced what are believed to be the first threedimensional images of the interior of a fuel cell -providing a new tool for the study and development of fuel cells.

The researchers' 3D reconstruction of a solid oxide fuel cell anode was reported in a paper published recently in Nature Materials.

'Much like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) produces a view inside the human body, we now can look inside fuel cells,' says Barnett. 'The dualbeam focused-ion-beam microscope used in the study provides much higher resolution than an MRI, showing nm-scale features. These pictures will help us and other researchers to unravel how fuel cells work so they can be improved and made to work longer without failing.'

The imaging technique also will enable manufacturers to maintain quality by checking batches of fuel cells for any structural changes that might damage the fuel cells' characteristics.

The materials comprising fuel cells have become increasingly sophisticated, both in composition and microstructure. Determining this microstructure is a critical, yet usually missing, link between materials properties and processing, and electrode performance, says Barnett. Current methods of microstructural analysis, such as scanning electron microscopy, provide only 2D images of the microstructure, limiting the understanding of how regions are interconnected in 3D space.

In addition to Barnett, the paper's other authors are James Wilson (lead author),