Mo,Cu-doped CeO2 as anode material of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) using syngas as fuel

Abstract

Mo,Cu-doped CeO2 (CMCuO) nanopowders were synthesized by the nitrate-fuel combustion method aiming to improve the electrical and electrochemical properties of its Mo-doped CeO2 (CMO) parent by the addition of copper. An electrical conductivity of ca. 1.22·10-2 S cm-1 was measured in air at 800oC for CMCuO, which is nearly 10 times higher than that reported for CMO. This increase was associated with the inclusion of copper into the crystal lattice of ceria and the presence of Cu and Cu2O as secondary phases in the CMCuO structure, which also could explain the increase in the charge transfer activities of the CMCuO based anode for the hydrogen and carbon monoxide electro-oxidation processes compared to the CMO based anode. A maximum power density of ca. 120 mW cm-2 was measured using a CMCuO based anode in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with YSZ electrolyte and LSM-YSZ cathode operating at 800°C with humidified syngas as fuel, which is comparable to the power output reported for other SOFCs with anodes containing copper. An increase in the area specific resistance of the SOFC was observed after ca. 10 hours of operation under cycling open circuit voltage and polarization conditions, which was attributed to the anode delamination caused by the reduction of the Cu2O secondary phase contained in its microstructure. Therefore, the addition of a more electroactive phase for hydrogen oxidation is suggested to confer long-term stability to the CMCuO based anode.