| Research
Interests
The research
areas of our group are interdisciplinary in nature and
encompass the fields of catalysis, solid-state ionics,
electrochemistry and reaction engineering. These fields
come together in research projects centered on the development
of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) and high temperature
membrane reactors.
SOFC are
considered as one of the most promising technologies
to revolutionize the way we generate and distribute
electrical energy. Our group believes that the route
to increased cell performance and, ultimately, wider
application of SOFC is through the design of new materials
and composites for SOFC electrodes.
For efficient
operation, an SOFC electrode must be porous for gas diffusion,
possess both ionic and electronic conductivity and be
catalytically active towards the desired reaction.
We have two complementary goals. First, we aim to increase
fundamental knowledge of how current materials function,
not only individually but as part of composite electrodes.
Second, we will use this knowledge to develop new materials and manufacture SOFC that
will operate on a wide variety of fuels with increased
efficiency. A wide range of experimental techniques
are utilized to probe from the nanoscale funcation and
design of materials to the macroscale operation of a
fuel cell.
Membrane
reactors are a promising technology for synthesis gas
production from methane as they combine oxygen separation
with reaction. Syn-gas is a feedstock for gas-to-liquid
plants and a source of hydrogen. The materials used
in such reactors are similar to those for SOFC and the
two projects share common themes of materials design
coupled to application.
Selected
Publications
M. van den
Bossche and S. McIntosh, ‘The rate and selectivity
of methane oxidation over La0.75Sr0.25CrxMn1-xO3-d as
a function of lattice oxygen stoichiometry under solid
oxide fuel cell anode conditions’, Journal of
Catalysis, 255 313–323 (2008).
A.A.Vance and
S.McIntosh, 'Performance and Activation Behavior of Surface-Doped
Thin-Film La0.8Sr0.2MnO3-d
Cathodes', Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 155(1),
B1 (2008).
S. McIntosh,
J.F. Vente, W.G. Haije, D.H.A. Blank, H.J.M. Bouwmeester, ‘Phase stability and oxygen stoichiometry of SrCo0.8Fe0.2O3-d
measured by in-situ neutron diffraction’,
Solid State Ionics, 177, 833(2006).
S. McIntosh,
J.F. Vente, W.G. Haije, D.H.A. Blank, H.J.M. Bouwmeester,
‘Oxygen stoichiometry and chemical expansion of
Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-d
measured by in-situ neutron diffraction’, Chemistry
of Materials, 18, 2187(2006).
R.J. Gorte,
J.M. Vohs, S. McIntosh, ‘Recent Developments on
Anodes for Direct Fuel Utilization in SOFC’, Solid
State Ionics, 175, 1(2004).
S. McIntosh,
R.J. Gorte, ‘Direct Hydrocarbon Solid Oxide Fuel
Cells’, Chemical Reviews, 104,
4845(2004).
S. McIntosh,
S.B. Adler, J.M. Vohs, R.J. Gorte, ‘The Effect
of Polarization on and Implications for Characterization
of LSM-YSZ Composite Cathodes’, Electrochemical
and Solid-State Letters, 7, A111(2004).
S. McIntosh,
H. He, S.-I. Lee, O. Costa-Nunes, V.V. Krishnan, J.M.
Vohs, R.J. Gorte, ‘An Examination of Carbonaceous
Deposits in Direct-Utilization SOFC Anodes’, Journal
of the Electrochemical Society, 151,
A604 (2004).
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