Preparation of SOFC Anodes at Lower Temperature with Boosted Electrochemical Performance

Various perovskite-type materials have been developed and applied in the field of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The perovskite oxides prepared by the traditional solid-state method usually need to be calcined at a temperature higher than 1000 °C. Herein, a modified solvothermal synthesis is proposed to prepare the La0.43Ca0.37Ti0.94Ni0.06O3−δ (LCTNi) anode at 800 °C. Compared to the material with identical composition synthesized by the solid-state method (denoted as LCTNi-ss), LCTNi synthesized at the lower temperature possesses smaller particle size, greater specific surface area, higher total conductivity, and better interfacial contact with the electrolyte. The single cell assembled with the LCTNi anode exhibits desirable electrochemical performance using wet H2 as fuel. The maximum power density is as high as ∼425 mW cm–2 at 800 °C in 3% H2O/97% H2 (∼2.5 times higher than that of the LCTNi-ss anode single cell). The boosted performance is mainly attributed to the facilitated gas diffusion process at the LCTNi anode side.