abstract
A recent commentary suggesting mishandled literature data in the analysis of the performance of composites including salts (alkaline carbonates) and oxides (pure ceria) is shown here as invalid. Even inadequately invoked data for the salt conductivity is shown to remain below the required performance. This conclusion is inevitable when due attention is paid to the salt volume fraction (50 vol%) and electrical pathway (tortuosity, >= 2) within the composite, both decreasing the effective electrical conductivity with respect to the fully dense salt. Furthermore, newly invoked data is inadequate for not being representative of the properties of the salt under analysis, including mismatching chemical composition and electrical performance. Other issues transgressing usual standards in scientific communications are also shortly addressed. (C) 2017 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
keywords
CARBONATE; ELECTROLYTE; PHASE; STABILITY; MEMBRANES; SYSTEMS
subject category
Chemistry; Electrochemistry; Energy & Fuels
authors
Rondao, AIB; Martins, NCT; Patricio, SG; Marques, FMB
our authors
Ana Inês Batista Lourenço Rondão
Post-Doc Fellowship
Fernando Manuel Bico Marques
Full professor
Natércia da Conceição Tomé Martins
Junior Researcher
Sónia Gonçalves Patrício
Assistant ResearcherGroups
G1 - Porous Materials and Nanosystems
G3 - Electrochemical Materials, Interfaces and Coatings
G5 - Biomimetic, Biological and Living Materials
acknowledgements
Work performed with funding from Projects NANOMFC (New-INDIGO/0001/2013) and CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (Ref. FCT UID/CTM/50011/2013), financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC and when appropriate co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. S.G. Patricio and A.I.B. Ronda. thank FCT for the grants SFRH/BPD/75943/2011 and SFRH/BDE/52139/2013, respectively. The authors would like also to express their special appreciation to several members of the wider scientific community that helped in finding relevant information handled in this Rebuttal.