Sintering Effect on Material Properties of Electrochemical Reactors Used for Removal of Nitrogen Oxides and Soot Particles Emitted from Diesel Engines

Abstract

In the present work, 12‐layered electrochemical reactors (comprising five cells) with a novel configuration including supporting layer lanthanum strontium manganate (LSM)‐yttria stabilised zirconia (YSZ), electrode layer LSM‐gadolinia‐doped cerium oxide (CGO) and electrolyte layer CGO were fabricated via the processes of slurry preparation, tape casting and lamination and sintering. The parameters of porosity, pore size, pore size distribution, shrinkage, flow rate of the sintered reactors and the electrical conductivities of the supporting layer and the electrode in the sintered reactors were characterised. The effect of sintering temperature on microstructures and properties of the sintered samples was discussed, and 1,250 °C was determined as the appropriate sintering temperature for reactor production based on the performance requirements for applications. Using the present ceramic processing route, porous, flat and crack‐free electrochemical reactors were successfully achieved. The produced electrochemical reactors have the potential application in the removal of NOx and soot particles emitted from the diesel engines.

A combined SEM, CV and EIS study of multi-layered porous ceramic reactors for flue gas purification

“…The samples were fabricated via the processes of slurry preparation, tape casting, lamination and sintering. The details of the layer composition and the fabrication procedure of the reactors were reported in our previous work [8]. The present work confines the investigation to the samples sintered at 1150, 1200, 1250 and A TM 1000 scanning electron microscope (Hitachi, Japan) was used in order to examine the cross section of the polished reactor to reveal its microstructure.…”

“…It is worth noting that the pore inter-connectivity of the supporting layer is not as good as that of the electrode and/or the electrolyte. This is mainly attributed to the fact that different contents and particle sizes of the different poreformers were added in order to generate porosity for the supporting layer, the electrode and the electrolyte, as described in our previous work [8]. The EIS data were fitted using an equivalent circuit with a resistance R in series with three RQ sub-circuits, where Q is a constant phase element.…”

“…In our previous work [8], flat, crack-free and layered electrochemical reactors (a series of cells) with a novel configuration comprising mechanically supporting layer, electrode and electrolyte were successfully produced via the processes of slurry preparation, tape casting, lamination and sintering, and the effect of sintering temperature on the materials properties (shrinkage, porosity, pore size, flow rate and room-temperature electrical conductivity) was investigated.…”