Development of Redox Resistant Fully Infiltrated Tubular SOFCs

The electrochemical performance of two infiltrated SOFCs (solid oxide fuel cells) and the redox cycling tolerance of such cells are presented. NiO-SDC (Sm 0.2 Ce 0.8 O 1.9 ) was infiltrated into a porous 8YSZ (8 mol% Y 2 O 3 ) support to form the anode of the infiltrated cells and LSM (La 0.80 Sr 0.20 MnO 3 ) or Nd-nickelate (Nd 2 NiO 4 ) was infiltrated into a thin porous YSZ layer to form the cathode. The power density of the Nd-nickelate infiltrated cell is higher than that of the LSM infiltrated cell suggesting it as a suitable cathode for intermediate temperature applications. The microstructure of these infiltrated solid oxide fuel cells shows a reasonable distribution of fine particles (50–100 nm) near the interface of electrodes and electrolyte and within the bulk electrodes. Despite having much lower Ni content than conventional anode supported cells, the infiltrated fuel cells exhibit a reasonable power density at low temperatures and an excellent robustness against redox cycling when air is used as the anode oxidant.