Electrochemical performance of solid oxide electrolysis cell electrodes under high-temperature coelectrolysis of steam and carbon dioxide

The SOEC electrodes during steam (H₂O) electrolysis, carbon dioxide (CO₂) electrolysis, and the coelectrolysis of H₂O/CO₂ are investigated. The electrochemical performance of nickel-yttria stabilised zirconia (Ni-YSZ), Ni-Gd_0.1Ce_0.9O_1.95 (Ni-GDC), and Ni/Ruthenium-GDC (Ni/Ru-GDC) hydrogen electrodes and La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO_3−δ-YSZ (LSM-YSZ), La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_3−δ (LSCF), and La_0.8Sr_0.2FeO_3−δ (LSF) oxygen electrodes are studied to assess the losses of each electrode relative to a reference electrode. The study is performed over a range of operating conditions, including varying the ratio of H₂O/H₂ and CO₂/CO (50/50 to 90/10), the operating temperature (550-800 °C), and the applied voltage. The activity of Ni-YSZ electrodes during H₂O electrolysis is significantly lower than that for H₂ oxidation. Comparable activity for operating between the SOEC and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) modes is observed for the Ni-GDC and Ni/Ru-GDC. The overpotential of H₂ electrodes during CO₂ reduction increases as the CO₂/CO ratio is increased from 50/50 to 90/10 and further increases when the electrode is exposed to a 100% CO₂ (800 °C), corresponding to the increase in the area specific resistance. The electrodes exhibit comparable performance during H₂O electrolysis and coelectrolysis, while the electrode performance is lower in the CO₂-electrolysis mode. The activity of all the O₂ electrodes as an SOFC cathode is higher than that as SOEC anodes. Among these O₂ electrodes, LSM-YSZ exhibits the nearest to symmetrical behaviour.     

Comparison of ceria and zirconia based electrolytes for solid oxide electrolysis cells

Steam electrolysis for hydrogen production is investigated in solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC). Sc³⁺, Ce⁴⁺, and Gd³⁺ are doped in zirconia (SCGZ) and compared with yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and gadolinium doped ceria (GDC) electrolyte. Electrolyte-supported cells are fabricated. The SCGZ and YSZ electrolytes are dense with >95% relative density while GDC is less densified. The activation energy of conduction of the SCGZ electrolyte is the lowest at 65.58 kJ mol^?1 although phase transformation is detected after electrolyte fabrication process. Cathode-supported cell having SCGZ electrolyte (Ni-SCGZ/SCGZ/BSCF) shows the highest electrochemical performance. Durability test of the cells in electrolysis mode is carried out over 60 h (0.3 A cm^?2, 1073 K, H₂O to H₂ ratio of 70:30). Significant performance degradation of Ni-GDC/YSZ/GDC/BSCF cell is observed (0.0057 V h^?1) whereas the performance of Ni-YSZ/YSZ/BSCF and Ni-SCGZ/SCGZ/BSCF are rather stable under the same operating conditions. The BSCF remains attaching to the SCGZ electrolyte and additional phase transformation is not observed after prolong operation.     

Performance and stability of (La,Sr)MnO3–Y2O3–ZrO2 composite oxygen electrodes under solid oxide electrolysis cell operation conditions

The electrochemical performance and stability of (La,Sr)MnO₃–Y₂O₃–ZrO₂ (LSM-YSZ) composite oxygen electrodes is studied in detail under solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) operation conditions. The introduction of YSZ electrolyte phase to form an LSM-YSZ composite oxygen electrode substantially enhances the electrocatalytic activity for oxygen oxidation reaction. However, the composite electrode degrades significantly under SOEC mode tested at 500 mA cm⁻² and 800 °C. The electrode degradation is characterized by deteriorated surface diffusion and oxygen ion exchange and migration processes. The degradation in electrode performance and stability is most likely associated with the breakup of LSM grains and formation of LSM nanoparticles at the electrode/electrolyte interface, and the formation of nano-patterns on YSZ electrolyte surface under the electrolysis polarization conditions. The results indicate that it is important to minimize the direct contact of LSM particles and YSZ electrolyte at the interface in order to prevent the detrimental effect of the LSM nanoparticle formation on the performance and stability of LSM-based composite oxygen electrodes.     

Performance and structural stability of Gd0.2Ce0.8O1.9 infiltrated La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 nano-structured oxygen electrodes of solid oxide electrolysis cells

Effect of Gd_0.2Ce_0.8O_1.9 (GDC) infiltration on the performance and stability of La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ (LSM) oxygen electrodes on Y₂O₃-stabilized ZrO₂ (YSZ) electrolyte has been studied in detail under solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) operating conditions at 800 °C. The incorporation of GDC nanoparticles significantly enhances the electrocatalytic activity for oxygen oxidation reaction on LSM electrodes. Electrode polarization resistance of pristine LSM electrode is 8.2 Ω cm² at 800 °C and decreases to 0.39 and 0.09 Ω cm² after the infiltration of 0.5 and 1.5 mg cm⁻² GDC, respectively. The stability of LSM oxygen electrodes under the SOEC operating conditions is also significantly increased by the GDC infiltration. A 2.0 mg cm⁻² GDC infiltrated LSM electrode shows an excellent stability under the anodic current passage at 500 mA cm⁻² and 800 °C for 100 h. The infiltrated GDC nanoparticles effectively shift the reaction sites from the LSM electrode/YSZ electrolyte interface to the LSM grains/GDC nanoparticle interface in the bulk of the electrode, effectively mitigating the delamination at the LSM/YSZ interface. The results demonstrate that the GDC infiltration is an effective approach to enhance the structural integrity and thus to achieve the high activity and excellent stability of LSM-based oxygen electrode under the SOEC operating conditions.     

Efficient and stable heterostructured air electrode for solid oxide steam electrolysis

High performance and excellent durability are essential for the practical application of solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC). Here we have demonstrated efficient and durable solid oxide steam electrolysis by constructing active La_0.8Sr_0.2CoO_3-δ/Gd_0.2Ce_0.8O_2-δ (LSC/GDC) heterointerface in air electrode using a simple co-impregnation method. The heterostructured air electrode exhibits the outstanding activity for oxygen evolution reaction, and its exchange current density (557 mA cm^?2) is 69 times higher than that of the traditional LSM-YSZ. The resulting cell reaches ?1.86 A cm^?2 @1.3 V and ?2.30 A cm^?2 @1.5 V at 800 °C and 50% absolute humidity (A.H), and the polarization resistance from the oxygen electrode only is 0.02 Ω cm². Most importantly, the heterostructured cell presents excellent long-term stability for the 1035 h steam electrolysis operation and excellent durability for 100 times charge-discharge cycles. In the heterostructured air electrode, the problem of electrode delamination is avoided due to the reduced oxygen partial pressure at anode/electrolyte resulting from easy diffusion of O^2? at the interphase, and the coarsening of LSC and GDC nanoparticles is limited because of the LSC/GDC percolative interfaces from phase segregation process. This work proposes a simple and effective strategy to design heterointerface for efficient and durable solid oxide steam electrolysis.     

Characterization of infiltrated (La0.75Sr0.25)0.95MnO3 as oxygen electrode for solid oxide electrolysis cells

Porous strontium doped lanthanum manganite (LSM)-yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) composite has been made by an impregnation method as oxygen electrodes for solid oxide electrolysis cells. X-ray diffraction and SEM results showed that LSM powders with well-crystallized perovskite phase uniformly distributed in the porous YSZ matrix. Impedance spectra and voltage-current density curves were measured as a function of absolute humidity at different temperatures to characterize the cell performance. The LSM infiltrated cell has an area specific resistance (ASR) of 0.20 Ω cm² at 900 °C at open circuit voltage with 50% absolute humidity (AH), which is relatively lower than that of the cell with LSM-YSZ oxygen electrode made by a conventionally mixing method. Electrolysis cell with LSM infiltrated oxygen electrode has demonstrated stable performance under electrolysis operation with 0.33 A/cm² and 50 vol.% AH at 800 °C.     

Optimization of the electrode-supported tubular solid oxide cells for application on fuel cell and steam electrolysis

Hydrogen electrode-supported tubular solid oxide cells (SOCs) were fabricated by dip-coating and co-sintering method. The electrochemical properties of tubular SOCs were investigated both in fuel cell and electrolysis modes. Ni-YSZ was employed as hydrogen electrode support. The pore ratio of Ni-YSZ support strongly affected the performance of tubular SOCs, especially in steam electrolysis mode. The pore ratio was adjusted by the content of pore-former in support slurry. The results showed that 3 wt.% pore former content is the proper value to produce high performance both in fuel cell and electrolysis modes. In fuel cell mode, the maximum power density reached 743.1 mW cm⁻² with H₂ (105 sccm) and O₂ (70 sccm) as working gases at 850 °C. In electrolysis mode, as the electrolysis voltage was 1.3 V, the electrolysis current density reached 425 mA cm⁻² with H₂ (35 sccm) and N₂ (70 sccm) adsorbed 47% steam as working gases in hydrogen electrode at 850 °C. The stability of tubular SOCs was related to the ratio of NiO/YSZ in the support. The sample with NiO/YSZ = 60/40 shows a better performance than the sample with NiO/YSZ = 50/50.     

H2 and CH4 oxidation on Gd0.2Ce0.8O1.9 infiltrated SrMoO3–yttria-stabilized zirconia anode for solid oxide fuel cells

Strontium molybdate (SrMoO₃) as an electronic conductor was incorporated with yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) to form an anode scaffold for solid oxide fuel cells. Gd_0.2Ce_0.8O_1.9 (GDC) nanoparticles were introduced by wet impregnation to complete the Ni-free GDC infiltrated SrMoO₃–YSZ anode fabrication. The effects of SrMoO₃ on the electrode conductivity and GDC infiltration on the catalytic activity were examined. A pronounced performance improvement was observed both on wet H₂ and CH₄ oxidation for the 56 wt.% GDC infiltrated SrMoO₃–YSZ. In particular, the polarization resistance decreased from 8 Ω cm² to 0.5 Ω cm² under wet H₂ (3% H₂O) at 800 °C with the introduction of GDC. Under wet CH₄ at 900 °C, a maximum power density of 160 mW cm⁻² was obtained and no carbon deposition was observed on the anode. It was found that the addition of H₂O in the anode caused an increase of electrode ohmic resistance and a decrease of open circuit voltage. Redox cycling stability was investigated and only a slight drop in cell performance was observed after 5 cycles. These results suggest that GDC infiltrated SrMoO₃–YSZ is a promising anode material for solid oxide fuel cells.     

Ba0·5Sr0·5(Co0·8Fe0.2)1-xTaxO3-δ perovskite anode in solid oxide electrolysis cell for hydrogen production from high-temperature steam electrolysis

Among perovskite anodes in solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC), Ba_0·5Sr_0·5Co_0·8Fe_0·2O_3-δ (BSCF) has gained much attention due to its dominantly high performance. However, the BSCF still suffers from chemical instability. In this study, the B-site of BSCF is partially substituted by a higher valence Ta⁵⁺ (5, 10, 15 and 20 mol%) to improve its structural stability - Ba_0·5Sr_0·5(Co_0·8Fe_0.2)_1-xTa_xO_3-δ (BSCFTax, 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.20). It is found that doping with higher valence Ta⁵⁺ increases both chemical stability and electrochemical performance of BSCF. Although the BSCFTa0.10 shows the lowest oxygen vacancies indicating by the ratio of adsorbed oxygen vacancies (O_adsorbed) to lattice oxygen (O_lattice), the electrochemical performance increases. The decrease in Co³⁺/Co⁴⁺ ratio results in increasing electronic conductivity in the anode. It is likely that proper amount of Ta⁵⁺ doping provide a balance between ionic and electronic conductivity in the anode and improved electrochemical performance. The symmetrical half-cells with electrolyte support (BSCFTa/YSZ/BSCFTa) are fabricated to determine the area specific resistance (ASR) and activation energy of conduction - BSCFTa0.10 shows the best performance. Cathode-supported Ni-YSZ/YSZ/BSCFTa0.10 also shows higher durability than Ni-YSZ/YSZ/BSCF (operating at current density ?0.45 A cm^?2 in electrolysis mode, 80 h, 800 °C and H₂O to H₂ ratio of 70:30).     

Synthesis and evaluation of (La0.6Sr0.4)(Co0.2Fe0.8)O3 (LSCF)–Y0.08Zr0.92O1.96 (YSZ)–Gd0.1Ce0.9O2−δ (GDC) dual composite SOFC cathodes for high performance and durability

This paper investigates a (La_0.6Sr_0.4)(Co_0.2Fe_0.8)O₃ (LSCF)–Y_0.16Zr_0.92O_1.96 (YSZ)–Gd_0.1Ce_0.9O_2−δ (GDC) dual composite cathode to achieve better cathodic performance compared to an LSM/GDC–YSZ dual composite cathode developed in previous research. To synthesize the structures of the LSCF/GDC–YSZ and LSCF/YSZ–GDC dual composite cathodes, nano-porous composite cathodes containing LSCF, YSZ, and GDC were prepared by a two-step polymerizable complex (PC) method which prevents the formation of YSZ–GDC solid solution. At 800 °C, the electrode polarization resistance of the LSCF/YSZ–GDC dual composite cathode showed to be significantly lower (0.075 Ω cm²) compared to that of a commercial LSCF–GDC cathode (0.195 Ω cm²), a synthesized LSCF/GDC–YSZ dual composite cathode (0.138 Ω cm²), and an LSM/GDC–YSZ dual composite cathode (0.266 Ω cm²) respectively. Moreover, the Ni–YSZ anode-supported single cell containing the LSCF/YSZ–GDC dual composite cathode achieved a maximum power density of 1.24 W/cm² and showed excellent durability without degradation under a load of 1.0 A/cm² over 570 h of operation at 800 °C.     

The effect of gas compositions on the performance and durability of solid oxide electrolysis cells

High-temperature electrolysis with various gas compositions has been performed to investigate the effects of the hydrogen partial pressure and the humidity generated by the steam electrode on the performance and durability of solid oxide electrolysis cells. The power density of the button cell used in this research is 0.48 W cm⁻² at 750 °C, and the flow rates of the air and humidified hydrogen are 100 cc min⁻¹. By changing the flow ratio of H₂:Ar:H₂O(g) from 10:0:4 to 1:9:4, the cell's OCV decreases from 0.973 V to 0.877 V, and the charge transfer resistance increases from 1.126 Ω cm² to 1.645 Ω cm². The close relationship between the conversion efficiency of high-temperature electrolysis and steam composition is evident in the increase in the cell's charge transfer resistance from 0.381 Ω cm² to 1.056 Ω cm² as the steam content changed from 40 vol% to 3 vol%. Although the electrochemical splitting of water is stimulated in the short term by excessive steam flow, the Ni-YSZ electrodes have been damaged by the steam electrode's low H₂ partial pressure. Consequently, the steam electrode's gas composition must be optimized in the long-term because of the trade-off between performance and durability, which depends on the water concentration of the steam electrodes.     

Electrochemical reduction of CO2 in solid oxide electrolysis cells

This paper describes results on the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide using the same device as the typical planar nickel-YSZ cermet electrode supported solid oxide fuel cells (H₂-CO₂, Ni-YSZ|YSZ|LSCF-GDC, LSCF, air). Operation in both the fuel cell and the electrolysis mode indicates that the electrodes could work reversibly for the charge transfer processes. An electrolysis current density of ≈1 A cm⁻² is observed at 800 °C and 1.3 V for an inlet mixtures of 25% H₂-75% CO₂. Mass spectra measurement suggests that the nickel-YSZ cermet electrode is highly effective for reduction of CO₂ to CO. Analysis of the gas transport in the porous electrode and the adsorption/desorption process over the nickel surface indicates that the cathodic reactions are probably dominated by the reduction of steam to hydrogen, whereas carbon monoxide is mainly produced via the reverse water gas shift reaction.     

A comparative study of H2S poisoning on electrode behavior of Ni/YSZ and Ni/GDC anodes of solid oxide fuel cells

The effect of sulfur poisoning on the activity and performance of Ni/Y₂O₃–ZrO₂ (Ni/YSZ) and Ni/Gd₂O₃–CeO₂ (Ni/GDC) cermet anodes of solid oxide fuel cells has been examined by polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements at 800 °C. The anodes are alternately polarized in pure H₂ and H₂S-containing H₂ fuels with H₂S concentration gradually increased from 5 ppm to 700 ppm at 200 mA cm⁻² for 2 h. The results show that the anode potential of Ni/YSZ electrodes measured in pure H₂ decreases from 0.61 V to 0.34 V after exposure to H₂S-containing H₂ fuels with H₂S concentration increased from 5 to 700 ppm. On the other hand, the anode potential of Ni/GDC electrodes measured in pure H₂ decreases from 0.78 V to 0.72 V under identical test conditions. The degradation in performance for the hydrogen oxidation in H₂S-containing H₂ fuels is substantially smaller on Ni/GDC anodes, as compared to that on Ni/YSZ anodes. Similar trend is also observed for the change of the electrode polarization resistance for the hydrogen oxidation reaction on the Ni/YSZ and Ni/GDC anodes after exposure to H₂S-containing H₂ fuels. The SEM results indicate the structure modification of Ni/YSZ anodes only occurs on Ni particles, and in the case of Ni/GDC anodes, structural modification on both Ni and GDC phases occurs. The mixed ionic and electronic conductivity of GDC phase could be the primary reason for the high sulfur tolerance of the Ni/GDC cermet anodes.     

Nanostructured GDC-impregnated La0.7Ca0.3CrO3−δ symmetrical electrodes for solid oxide fuel cells operating on hydrogen and city gas

Nanostructured Gd_0.1Ce_0.9O_1.95 (GDC)-impregnated La_0.7Ca_0.3CrO_3−δ (LCC) composites were investigated as symmetrical electrodes for La_0.9Sr_0.1Ga_0.8Mg_0.2O_3−δ (LSGM)-supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) without using interlayer at anode/electrolyte interface. The impregnation of aqueous Gd_0.1Ce_0.9(NO₃)_x solution into the porous LCC electrode backbones was found to form nanosized GDC particles on LCC surfaces after calcining at 850 °C for 30 min. The optimized performance of electrodes for SOFCs had been achieved through the impregnation cycles of 3-7 times. The introduction of the ion conducting phase GDC in nanometer significantly enhanced the symmetrical electrode performance. The symmetrical cell with the impregnation of five times displayed the best performance and the maximum power densities were 521 mW cm⁻² and 638 mW cm⁻² at 850 °C and 900 °C with dry H₂ as fuel, respectively. Using commercial city gas containing H₂S as fuel, the maximum power densities of the cell reached 362 mW cm⁻² and 491 mW cm⁻² at 850 °C and 900 °C, respectively. The microstructure, valence state of Ce element and electrochemical stability of the nanostructured GDC-impregnated LCC composites were also discussed.     

Electrolysis of carbon dioxide in Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells

Carbon dioxide electrolysis was studied in Ni/YSZ electrode supported Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells (SOECs) consisting of a Ni-YSZ support, a Ni-YSZ electrode layer, a YSZ electrolyte, and a LSM-YSZ O₂ electrode (YSZ = Yttria Stabilized Zirconia). The results of this study show that long term CO₂ electrolysis is possible in SOECs with nickel electrodes.The passivation rate of the SOEC was between 0.22 and 0.44 mV h⁻¹ when operated in mixtures of CO₂/CO = 70/30 or CO₂/CO = 98/02 (industrial grade) at 850 °C and current densities between −0.25 and −0.50 A cm⁻².The passivation rate was independent of the current density and irreversible when operated at conditions that would oxidise carbon. This clearly shows that the passivation was not caused by coke formation. On the other hand, the passivation was partly reversible when introducing hydrogen. The passivation may be a consequence of impurities in the gas stream, most likely sulphur, adsorbing on some specific nickel sites in the cathode of the SOEC. Activation can be carried out by hydrogen reacting with adsorbed sulphur to form the volatile compound H₂S. Because adsorption of sulphur is site specific, only a part of the nickel sites were passivated and long-time operation of CO₂ electrolysis in these Ni/YSZ electrode supported Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells seems therefore feasible.     

The properties of the fuel electrode of solid oxide cells under simulated seawater electrolysis

In this study, electrolysis of seawater in flat-tube nickel-yttria-stabilized zirconia (Ni-YSZ) electrode-supported solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) were modeled and the effects of variations in electrical conductivity and microstructure of Ni-YSZ electrode support were investigated. When the current density was greater than 700 mA·cm⁻², the conductivity of the electrode support decreased slightly with an increase in current density at 800 °C in hydrogen reduction environment; the conductivity of the electrode support decreased with an increase in the current density when the current density was greater than 400 mA·cm⁻² at 800 °C in the seawater electrolysis environment. During long-term durability experiment of seawater electrolysis, the degradation rates in area specific resistance (ASR) were 0.096 mΩ·cm²/100 h and 0.207 mΩ·cm²/100 h with a current density of 300 mA·cm⁻² (i.e., ≤400 mA·cm⁻²) and 1000 mA·cm⁻² (i.e., ≥400 mA·cm⁻²), respectively. Besides, the various ions commonly present in seawater did not contaminate the Ni-YSZ support during the long-term durability test. The degradation mechanism of seawater electrolysis in flat-tube SOECs is discussed and clarified.     

High performance and stability of nanocomposite oxygen electrode for solid oxide cells

Solid oxide electrochemical cell (SOC) is a highly promising alternative for fuel conversion and power-to-gas due to its high efficiency and low emission. However, degradation resulting from the electrolyte-electrode interface is a major challenge in both fuel cell mode and electrolysis mode. Here, a co-sintering tri-layer structure cell with nanocomposite oxygen electrode is developed to mitigate the interface issue. A 10 × 10 cm² NiO/YSZ||YSZ||YSZ-La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.2Fe_0.8O_3-δ (LSCF) cell has been conducted under different fuels in SOFC mode. A power density output of 558 mW/cm² @0.7 V-800 °C in wet H₂ and a durability of 300 h in simulated syngas have been obtained. The performance of LSF, LSCF and SSC oxygen electrodes have been studied in both SOFC and SOEC modes. It suggests that three oxygen electrodes have an order of SSC > LSCF > LSF in electrochemical performance, and an opposite order in stability of SOEC. The degradation of the LSCF and SSC can be derived from the solid-state reactions at the interface between Co-containing perovskites and YSZ during operation. It demonstrates that GDC and Ag modification can enhance the oxygen electrode stability by impeding the solid-state reactions and the nanoparticles sintering. Results suggest that GDC has a negative effect on the cell performance and Ag has a positive effect, implying that enhancing the electric conductivity of YSZ-LSCF is the key to improve the cell performance. Moreover, cell with YSZ-SFM/GDC has been applied in CH₄ assisted SOEC process (CH₄-SOEC), in which a significant reduction of electricity consume can be realized.     

A promising Bi-doped La0.8Sr0.2Ni0.2Fe0.8O3-δ oxygen electrode for reversible solid oxide cells

Reversible solid oxide cells (RSOCs) are clean and effective electrochemical conversion devices that require highly active electrodes and stable electrochemical performance for the practical application. Herein, we investigate a series of La_0.8-xBi_xSr_0.2Ni_0.2Fe_0.8O_3-δ (LBSNF-x, x = 0.0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15) oxides as the potential oxygen electrode material for RSOCs. The properties of electrical conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, and chemical compatibility with the Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_1.95 (GDC) barrier layer of LBSNF-x oxides are evaluated. When LBSNF-0.1 and GDC forms a composite oxygen electrode with the ratio of 7:3, it shows the lowest polarization resistance with fastest oxygen reduction reaction activity in the symmetrical cell test. Then the cell with the configuration of Ni-YSZ/YSZ/GDC/LBSNF-0.1-GDC was prepared and evaluated both in fuel cell (FC) and electrolysis cell (EC) mode. The maximum power density of 824 mW cm⁻² is obtained at 800 °C in FC mode, and current density of 1.20 A cm⁻² is achieved under 50% steam content at 1.3 V in EC mode. Additionally, the cell exhibits good stability both in FC and EC mode after 80 h test at 700 °C. The results of this work provide a strong support for application of the LBSNF-0.1-GDC oxygen electrode for reversible solid oxide cells.     

High activity oxide Pr0.3Sr0.7Ti0.3Fe0.7O3−δ as cathode of SOEC for direct high-temperature steam electrolysis

A high activity ferrite Pr_0.3Sr_0.7Ti_0.3Fe_0.7O_3?δ (PSTF) has been synthesized and examined as a cathode of solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) for direct high-temperature steam electrolysis. The SOEC with a configuration of PSTF|YSZ|LSM-YSZ was operated under H₂O concentrations ranging from 20%H₂O/Ar to 60%H₂O/Ar and exhibited excellent electrochemical performances. Polarization resistance of the electrolyzer was as small as 0.43 Ω cm² in 60%H₂O/Ar at 1.85 V at 800 °C. According to AC impendence spectra analyzing, gas diffusion process was the rate-determine-step (RDS) under smaller current density, while under larger current density, transport properties in the electrodes and the interfaces of electrode/electrolyte was RDS. The electrochemical properties of PSTF cathodes were systematically investigated and compared when they were exposed to gas atmosphere with and without safe gas (H₂). The obtained results demonstrated that PSTF electrode could conceivably avoid any hydrogen feeding for steam electrolysis.     

Application of CuNi–CeO2 fuel electrode in oxygen electrode supported reversible solid oxide cell

The oxygen electrode-supported reversible solid oxide cell (RSOC) has demonstrated distinguishing advantages of fuel flexibility, shorter gas diffusion path and more choices for fuel electrode materials. However, there are serious drawbacks including the difficulty of co-firing the oxygen electrode and electrolyte, and the inefficient electrochemical performance. In this study, a (La_0.8Sr_0.2)_0.95MnO_3-δ (LSM) supported RSOC with the configuration of La_0.6Sr_0.4Fe_0.9Sc_0.1O_3-δ (LSFSc)-YSZ/YSZ/CuNi–CeO₂-YSZ is fabricated by tape casting, co-sintering and impregnation technologies. The single cell is evaluated at both fuel cell (FC) and electrolysis cell (EC) mode. Significant maximum power density of 436.0 and 377 mW cm^?2 is obtained at 750 °C in H₂ and CH₄ fuel atmospheres, respectively. At electrolysis voltage of 1.3 V and 50% steam content, current density of ?0.718, ?0.397, ?0.198 and ?0.081 A cm^?2 is obtained at 750, 700, 650 and 600 °C respectively. Much higher electrolysis performance than FC mode is exhibited probably due to the optimized electrodes with increased triple phase boundary (TPB) area and faster gas diffusion (oxygen and steam) and electrochemical reactions for water splitting. Additionally, the short-term stability of single cell in H₂ and CH₄ are also studied.