Hadi, Abdul-Sommed;
Morrow, Fiona;
Kirtley, John David
Examination of Morphological and Chemical Properties of Ni-BZY Anodes and their Influence upon Methane Reactivity and Electrochemical Performance of Protonic-Ceramic Fuel Cells
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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
Examination of Morphological and Chemical Properties of Ni-BZY Anodes and their Influence upon Methane Reactivity and Electrochemical Performance of Protonic-Ceramic Fuel Cells
Contributor:
Hadi, Abdul-Sommed;
Morrow, Fiona;
Kirtley, John David
Published:
The Electrochemical Society, 2023
Published in:
ECS Meeting Abstracts, MA2023-01 (2023) 54, Seite 339-339
Description:
Protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs) have recently emerged as potential alternatives to traditional solid oxide fuel cells due in part to their enhanced tolerance to performance losses caused by coking and sulfur poisoning. These advantages can be attributed to the unique cermet anode materials used in these devices. Ni-BZY (yttrium-doped barium zirconate) in particular has been widely investigated due to BZY’s superior protonic conductivity and stability in hydrocarbon reforming environments containing carbon dioxide and steam. In addition, Ni and BZY have been observed to form unique nano/microstructures thought to synergistically improve catalytic reforming. However, recent work suggest that at high temperatures (≥ 700 ˚C), the Ni-BZY anode suffers rapid deactivation when operated with steam reformed methane (SRM), but unfortunately the underlying reasons remain unclear. The objective of the present work is to elucidate how anode deactivation under SRM may be influenced by molecular surface structures (i.e. coke), as well as phase and morphological changes within the Ni-BZY anode. The PCFCs used in this work consist of a ~20 μm Ni-BZY anode sintered onto a ~600 μm BZY support complete with a composite cathode of lanthanum strontium cobaltite ferrite and ceria- and yttria-doped barium zirconate (LSCF/BCZY). The long-term electrochemical performance of these cells at OCV and under load is compared at 600 -700 °C while operating with SRM (1CH4:1H2O), neat methane, and humidified hydrogen. Further insights into the underlying morphological and chemical changes are provided by pre- and post-mortem analysis of the anode via Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and SEM analysis.