Direct power generation from ethanol by solid oxide fuel cells with an integrated catalyst layer

Reduced-La0.4Sr0.6Co0.2Fe0.7Nb0.1O3-δ (LSCFN) with anchored nanoscale Co-Fe alloy is evaluated as the protective catalyst layer for ethanol-fueled solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) in this study. The coking resistance and overall performance of both cells with and without the catalyst layer are systematically studied in ethanol and H2 fuels. Both cells with and without the catalyst layer fueled in H2 fuel exhibit equivalent electrochemical performance, and the peak power density is 1065 and 1098 mW·cm−2 at 800 °C, respectively. When compared with the conventional cell in ethanol fuel, the cell cracking caused by thermal–mechanical stress can be avoided in the new cell design with an integrated catalyst layer. Also, it exhibits a considerable peak power density of 469 mW·cm−2 and demonstrates good coking resistance, and is stable during the 76 h test in ethanol at 800 °C. This study shows that the addition of the LSCFN catalyst layer can protect Ni-YSZ from the uneven distributed thermal–mechanical stress and severe coking in ethanol fuel.