Nanotechnology-Based Design and Fabrication of Advanced Electrolytes for Solid Oxide Cells

Solid oxide cells (SOCs) are promising electrochemical energy conversion/storage devices for the generation of electricity and/or valuable chemical products due to the high efficiency, superior reversibility and low emissions. However, the large-scale applications of SOCs are strongly limited by the inferior stability and high costs due to the high operational temperatures (≈800 °C). Extensive researches are reported on reducing the operating temperatures of SOCs to suppress the costs and improve the long-term stability. Nevertheless, as a key component in SOCs, the electrolytes suffer from inferior ionic conductivities at reduced temperatures. Nanotechnology and relevant nanomaterials display great potential to improve the ionic conductivities and durability of electrolytes for low-temperature (LT)-SOCs due to the advantageous functionalities including distinct surface/interface properties and the creation of nanoeffect. Herein, a timely review about the utilization of nanotechnology for the design and fabrication of high-performance electrolytes for LT-SOCs is presented from the aspects of nanostructuring methodology and nanomaterial design strategies. The current limitations, remaining challenges, and future research directions related to the use of nanotechnology and nanomaterials in the development of electrolytes for LT-SOCs are also presented and discussed. Here valuable guidelines are provided for the further advancement of nanotechnology-based energy conversion/storage technologies.