• NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER), 2007
• EU Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship, University of Twente, The Netherlands (2004-2005)

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

A. Haider and S. McIntosh. “Evidence for two activation mechanisms in LSM SOFC cathodes.” J. of Electrochem. Soc. (2009, in press)

M. A. Azimova and S. McIntosh. “Transport properties and stability of cobalt doped proton conducting oxides.” Solid State Ionics, 180(2-3), 160-167 (2009)

M. K. Bruce, M. van den Bossche, S. McIntosh, "The Influence of Current Density on the Electrocatalytic Activity of Oxide-Based Direct Hydrocarbon SOFC Anodes", Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 155(11), B1202 (2008).

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).