Understanding Surface Properties of Solid Oxide Electrodes for Electrochemical Energy Conversion Devices through Ion Beam Analysis

2017[28] THE HITACHI SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT NEWS ー 2017 Vol.8 Although the effi ciency and durability of electrochemical energy conversion devices such as solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and electrolyzers (SOECs) are drastically affected by their surface and interfacial chemistry and morphology, it is only recently that more attention is being paid to their characterisation. The increasing demand to perform this characterisation on smaller and smaller length scales is intertwined with instrumental and experimental developments for 2Dand 3D-structural and chemical analysis of complex heterogeneous materials, shallow surface layers, interfaces, and particles on the microscopic (> 100 nm) and nanoscale (< 100 nm) level 1, . In the present article, we will discuss how recent developments in two ion beam based surface analytical techniques Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry, ToF-SIMS, and Low Energy Ion Scattering (LEIS) spectroscopy are contributing to advances in understanding of functional oxides for energy conversion. Surfaces and Interfaces in Electrochemical Energy Conversion Devices 1. SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT NEWS