Improving the electrochemical properties of SSZ electrolyte-supported solid oxide fuel cells

Electrolyte-supported solid oxide fuel cells (NiO-1Ce10ScZr | 1Ce10ScZr | LSM-1Ce10ScZr) were prepared in this study. The effects of co-sintering temperatures of cathode and anode with electrolyte and the additions of metal oxide (Bi 2 O 3 and CeO 2 ) in the anode on the microstructures and electrochemical properties were investigated. The carbon deposition behaviors of the anode with added CeO 2 were also evaluated. Results indicated that the maximum power density ( P max ) initially increased from 0.28   W/cm 2 (1150   °C) to 0.35   W/cm 2 (1250   °C), and then decreased to 0.33   W/cm 2 (1300   °C) with the increase in co-sintering temperature from 1150   °C to 1300   °C. The variation tendency of P max was attributed to a complex combination of the bond strength increase of the interfaces and the densification of the electrodes with the increase of the co-sintering temperature. Adding proper CeO 2 in the anode effectively improved the electrochemical properties of the ZrO 2 doped with Sc 2 O 3 electrolyte-supported single cells. This phenomenon could be related to the increase of the dimension of three-phase boundary. The P max of the SSZ electrolyte-supported single cell with the anode mixed with 1.0   wt% CeO 2 could reach 0.42   W/cm 2 . The mixture of 1.0   wt% CeO 2 in the anode could also effectively suppress the carbon deposition of CH 4 on the anode surface.