SCTMS employee Dr. Artem Kabanov took part in the international scientific and technical conference "Modern electrochemical technologies and equipment – 2023" (Minsk, Republic of Belarus). The conference was held from May 15 to May 19, 2023 at the Belarusian State Technological University.Artem spoke in the section "Chemical current sources", where he presented a 40-minute report "Investigation of the ionic conductivity of MNb2O6 (M = Mg, Ca, Zn) columbites". The co-authors of Artem Kabanov in this study are Yelizaveta Morkhova (SamSTU), Maria Koroleva (SamSTU), as well as A. Egorova (UrFU, Yekaterinburg).
At the moment, the search for new crystalline/ceramic materials with oxygen-ion conductivity, which can be used in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), is relevant. SOFCs operate at very high temperatures, and new materials with high oxygen-ion conductivity are required to lower the operating temperature.
During the study of columbites, a geometric-topological analysis of the oxygen ion migration channels was carried out, the diffusion activation energy was calculated, calculations were also made in the framework of the electron density functional theory. The synthesis of columbites MNb2O6 (M=Mg, Ca, Zn) based on magnesium, calcium and zinc was also carried out. Data on the electrical conductivity were obtained and the conductivity was measured as a function of the oxygen partial pressure. Thus, the oxygen-ionic and electronic conductivity in columbites has been theoretically and experimentally studied, and it has been shown that they may be of interest for the production of SOFC membranes.