A Carbon-Air Battery for High Power Generation

We report a carbon-air battery for power generation based on a solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) integrated with a ceramic CO2-permeable membrane. An anode-supported tubular SOFC functioned as a carbon fuel container as well as an electrochemical device for power generation, while a high-temperature CO2-permeable membrane composed of a CO32- mixture and an O2- conducting phase (Sm0.2Ce0.8O1.9) was integrated for in situ separation of CO2 (electrochemical product) from the anode chamber, delivering high fuel-utilization efficiency. After modifying the carbon fuel with a reverse Boudouard reaction catalyst to promote the in situ gasification of carbon to CO, an attractive peak power density of 279.3 mW cm(-2) was achieved for the battery at 850 degrees C, and a small stack composed of two batteries can be operated continuously for 200 min. This work provides a novel type of electrochemical energy device that has a wide range of application potentials.