Natural CuFe2O4 mineral for solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract Natural mineral, cuprospinel (CuFe2O4) originated from natural chalcopyrite ore (CuFeS2), has been used for the first time in low temperature solid oxide fuel cells. Three different types of devices are fabricated to explore the optimum application of CuFe2O4 in fuel cells. Device with CuFe2O4 as a cathode catalyst exhibits a maximum power density of 180 mW/cm2 with an open circuit voltage 1.07 V at 550 °C. And a power output of 587 mW/cm2 is achieved from the device using a homogeneous mixture membrane of CuFe2O4, Li2O-ZnO-Sm0.2Ce0.8O2 and LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2. Electrochemical impedance spectrum analysis reveals different mechanisms for the devices. The results demonstrate that natural mineral, chalcopyrite, can provide a new implementation to utilize the natural resources for next-generation fuel cells being cost-effective and make great contributions to the environmentally friendly sustainable energy.