Ni-doped Ba0.9Zr0.8Y0.2O3-d as a methane dry reforming catalyst for direct CH4-CO2 solid oxide fuel cells

Fuel flexibility is one of the significant advantages of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The utilization of methane in SOFCs can not only reduce fuel costs, but also greatly expand its application scenarios, which is of great significance to the commercial development of SOFCs. However, when methane is directly used, Ni-based cermet anode suffers from coking, which seriously affects the durability of the cell. To alleviate the coking issue, a reforming layer outside the Ni-based anode-supporter was proposed in this study, and Ba0.9(Zr0.8Y0.2)1-xNixO3-$ (BZYNix, x = 0.05, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2) was used as reforming layer material. Among BZYNix catalysts, BZYNi0.2 exhibited excellent catalytic activity toward dry reforming of methane, and methane conversion was as high as 85% at 750 & DEG;C. The excellent catalytic durability and coking-resistance of BZYNi0.2 were also confirmed. When BZYNi0.2 reforming layer was applied, the single cell fueled with CH4-CO2 fuel showed significantly improved electrochemical performance, durability and coking-resistance. The utilization of BZYNi0.2 reforming layer provides guidance for solving the coking issue of SOFC cermet anodes when fueled with hydrocarbon.& COPY; 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study proposes a method to alleviate the coking issue of Ni-based anode-supporter in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) through the use of a reforming layer. Ba0.9(Zr0.8Y0.2)1-xNixO3 (BZYNix) is used as the reforming layer material and exhibits excellent catalytic activity and coking-resistance. The utilization of the BZYNi0.2 reforming layer significantly improves the electrochemical performance and durability of the CH4-CO2 fueled single cell.