Nanoengineering modification of Ni-YSZ anode using in-situ solvothermal process in solid oxide fuel cells with internally reformed fuel

The conventional Ni-Y 0.16 Zr 0.84 O 1.92 anode in solid oxide fuel cells fueled with hydrocarbon fuels is prone to suffer from carbon deposition. In this work, we employed an in-situ solvothermal method to decorate the Ni-Y 0.16 Zr 0.84 O 1.92 anode with Gd 0.1 Ce 0.9 O 1.95-δ nanoparticles to improve its resistance to carbon deposition and thus improve the electrochemical performance of the cell. This method generates small Gd 0.1 Ce 0.9 O 1.95-δ particles and at the same time does not block the gas diffusion channels. The Gd 0.1 Ce 0.9 O 1.95-δ -decorated anode showed enhanced long-term stability in methane with no significant performance degradation after 700  at 750 °C, whereas an untreated Ni-Y 0.16 Zr 0.84 O 1.92 anode only worked for less than 8 h under the same conditions. The addition of Gd 0.1 Ce 0.9 O 1.95-δ nanoparticles was found to enhance internal reforming reactions of methane by the distribution of relaxation times technique. This work demonstrated that in-situ solvothermal modification strategy can provide anodes with excellent carbon deposition resistance.