Heterogeneous MgO-modified Ni3Sn cermet anode for hydrocarbon-fueled solid oxide fuel cells

To achieve the commercial application of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), the performance degradation of the cell caused by carbon deposition needs to be well addressed. Here we report a new anode with nanostructured heterogeneous interfaces by integrating 0.38 wt% Sn and 0.19 wt% MgO into Ni-SDC for hydrocarbon-fueled SOFCs. The cell with 0.38Sn-0.19MgO-Ni-SDC anode exhibits a peak power density of 374 mW cm-2 and excellent long-term stability for 100 h with a power attenuation about 13.5% in humidified methane at 700 degrees C, which is attributed to the decreased rate of carbon deposition by promoting the formation of C-O bonds instead of C-C bonds, increasing the activation barrier for methane cracking and preventing the formation of nickel carbides by the confinement effect of heterogeneous catalysts, and the enhanced rate of carbon removal is attributed to excellent hydrophilicity and adsorption of CO2, as revealed by combined density function theory (DFT) calculations and experimental characterizations. This finding offers potential for the application of hydrocarbon-fueled SOFCs and provides a guide for designing coking-tolerant anodes.

Automated summary

To address the performance degradation of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) caused by carbon deposition, a new anode with nanostructured heterogeneous interfaces was developed by integrating 0.38 wt% Sn and 0.19 wt% MgO into Ni-SDC for hydrocarbon-fueled SOFCs. The cell with this anode showed a peak power density of 374 mW cm-2 and excellent long-term stability for 100 hours in humidified methane at 700 degrees C. The improved performance was attributed to the decreased rate of carbon deposition, increased activation barrier for methane cracking, prevention of nickel carbide formation, and enhanced rate of carbon removal.