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Sulfur-tolerant redox-reversible anode material for direct hydrocarbon solid oxide fuel cells
Chenghao Yang1, Zhibin Yang, Chao Jin
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, 29208, USA.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|February 10, 2012
Summary
A new composite anode material, K-PSCFN-CFA, shows excellent performance and stability for fuel cell applications. This novel material offers high catalytic activity, sulfur tolerance, and resistance to coking, outperforming traditional anodes.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
Background:
- Development of advanced anode materials is crucial for improving fuel cell efficiency and durability.
- Nickel-based cermet anodes are widely used but suffer from sulfur poisoning and coking.
- There is a need for redox-stable and sulfur-tolerant anode materials for next-generation fuel cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize and characterize a novel K(2)NiF(4)-type composite anode material (K-PSCFN-CFA).
- To evaluate the electrochemical performance, redox stability, sulfur tolerance, and coking resistance of the developed anode.
- To compare the performance of the K-PSCFN-CFA anode with conventional Ni-based cermet anodes.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of perovskite Pr(0.4)Sr(0.6)Co(0.2)Fe(0.7)Nb(0.1)O(3-δ) (P-PSCFN).
- Annealing P-PSCFN in H(2) at 900 °C to form the K(2)NiF(4)-type K-PSCFN matrix with dispersed nano-sized Co-Fe alloy (CFA).
- Electrochemical testing to assess catalytic activity, sulfur tolerance, coking resistance, and redox cyclability.
Main Results:
- A novel K(2)NiF(4)-type structured Pr(0.8)Sr(1.2)(Co,Fe)(0.8)Nb(0.2)O(4+δ) (K-PSCFN) matrix with homogeneously dispersed nano-sized Co-Fe alloy (CFA) was successfully synthesized.
- The K-PSCFN-CFA composite anode exhibited excellent redox reversibility and comparable catalytic activity to Ni-based cermet anodes.
- The anode demonstrated remarkable sulfur tolerance, exceptional coking resistance, and robust redox cyclability.
Conclusions:
- The developed K-PSCFN-CFA composite anode is a promising alternative to traditional Ni-based anodes for fuel cell applications.
- Its superior sulfur tolerance, coking resistance, and redox stability make it suitable for harsh operating conditions.
- Further research into optimizing the material composition and microstructure could lead to even higher performance.
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