Microwave assisted synthesis of solid oxide fuel cell materials

The subject matter of this book include the solid state synthesis of the most important ceramic materials used as the structural components in the solid oxide fuel cells in which the chemical energy is directly converted into electricity. The combination of such cells with conventional thermal plants has demonstrated the increase in efficiency of electrical power generation considerably. The high temperatures involved in the synthesis of these materials however limit the maximum efficiency which could be derived from such hybrid systems. Attempts have been made in the present book to bring down the temperature of synthesis of these materials considerably. Three different materials which can be used as solid oxide electrolyte, cathode and interconnect component of SOFC have been synthesized using microwave processing and suitable precursor chemistry. This book also consists of details of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and principles of various characterization techniques used for analysis of materials synthesized in present work. This book is useful to PG and research students of chemistry, physics and materials science.