Modeling Electrochemical Oxidation of Hydrogen on Ni-YSZ Pattern Anodes

A computational model is developed to represent the coupled behavior of elementary chemistry, electrochemistry, and transport in the vicinity of solid-oxide fuel cell three-phase boundaries. The model is applied to assist the development and evaluation of H-2 charge-transfer reaction mechanisms for Ni-yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) anodes. Elementary chemistry and surface transport for the Ni and YSZ surfaces are derived from prior literature. Previously published patterned-anode experiments [J. Mizusaki , Solid State Ionics, 70/71, 52 (1994)] are used to evaluate alternative electrochemical charge-transfer mechanisms. The results show that a hydrogen-spillover mechanism can explain the Mizusaki polarization measurements over wide ranges of gas-phase composition with both anodic and cathodic biases.