Energy Band Alignment in ZnO-Sm₂O₃ Heterostructure for Low Temperature Ceramic Fuel Cells

Energy band alignment in ZnO-Sm₂O₃ was proposed to design promising electrolyte materials for low temperature ceramic fuel cells. The arrangement of energy bands leads to local electric field at the interface, avoiding short-circuit problems and accelerating ion conduction in ZnO-Sm₂O₃ electrolyte low temperature ceramic fuel cells. The optimized composite electrolyte 7ZnO-3Sm₂O₃ fuel cell devices an appreciable maximum power density of 790 mW cm⁻² and stable power density of 125 mW cm⁻² for 40 h at 500 °C.