ABSTRACT Methane oxidation in the anode of solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) enables efficient hydrogen production at low voltage. In this work, Ce 0.8 Gd 0.2 O 2 (GDC) is synthesized via hydrolysis method as the catalyst carrier and oxygen ion conductor. The active metals such as Ni, Co, Fe, Cu, and bimetals of NiCu and CoCu are loaded on GDC by impregnation method. The results show that NiCu bimetals with mole ratios of 8:2 and 5:5 exhibit the optimal anode activity for water electrolysis in SOEC. The synergistic effect of NiCu bimetal in methane anode atmosphere can strengthen the intermetallic interaction and increase the catalytic oxidation activity. The doping of moderate amount of Cu facilitates the charge transfer process at the anode and reduces the polarization resistance of the reaction. And it can enhance the catalytic activity of Ni and promote the oxidation activity of methane at high voltage, thus improving the electrocatalytic performance.
Wei et al. (Wed,) studied this question.