Development of High-Entropy Alloy (HEA) Anode for Carbon-Free and Electrochemically-Stable Operation of SOFC on Hydrocarbon Fuels

Abstract

State of the art SOFCs, consisting of Ni base anode, experience excessive localized endothermic cooling and carbon deposition during internal reforming of hydrocarbon fuels. To mitigate the above issues, we developed high-entropy alloy (HEA) anode consisting of optimized mixture of Cu, Ni, Co, Fe and Mn transition metals. Alloys were synthesized using co-precipitation technique and experimentally evaluated for internal reforming and electrochemical activity under SOFC operating conditions. As-synthesized HEA catalysts were also characterized by techniques including N2 adsorption/desorption analysis, SEM, XRD, TPR, TPO and TPD. Compared with standard Ni/YSZ and Ni/GDC anodes, HEA anode containing gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) showed controlled reforming of methane. Raman spectroscopy and SEM microscopy confirmed the absence of carbon on the HEA/GDC anode.