Promotion of water-mediated carbon removal by nanostructured barium oxide/nickel interfaces in solid oxide fuel cells

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-29-2011

Abstract

The existing Ni-yttria-stabilized zirconia anodes in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) perform poorly in carbon-containing fuels because of coking and deactivation at desired operating temperatures. Here we report a new anode with nanostructured barium oxide/nickel (BaO/Ni) interfaces for low-cost SOFCs, demonstrating high power density and stability in C 3 H 8, CO and gasified carbon fuels at 750°C. Synchrotron-based X-ray analyses and microscopy reveal that nanosized BaO islands grow on the Ni surface, creating numerous nanostructured BaO/Ni interfaces that readily adsorb water and facilitate water-mediated carbon removal reactions. Density functional theory calculations predict that the dissociated OH from H 2 O on BaO reacts with C on Ni near the BaO/Ni interface to produce CO and H species, which are then electrochemically oxidized at the triple-phase boundaries of the anode. This anode offers potential for ushering in a new generation of SOFCs for efficient, low-emission conversion of readily available fuels to electricity. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Identifier

79959563524 (Scopus)

Publication Title

Nature Communications

External Full Text Location

https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1359

e-ISSN

20411723

PubMed ID

21694705

Issue

1

Volume

2

Grant

MRI-0722730

Fund Ref

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

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