Effect of Anode Active Layer on Performance of Single Step Co-fired Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs)

Abstract

Anode-supported planar solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with and without the anode active layer were fabricated by a single step co-firing process. The cells were comprised of a porous Ni + yittria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) anode support, a porous-fine-grained Ni + YSZ anode active layer for some experiments, a dense YSZ electrolyte, a porous-fine-grained Ca-doped LaMnO3 (LCM) + YSZ cathode active layer, and a porous LCM cathode current collector layer. Fabricated cells were electrochemically tested between 700~800oC with air as oxidant and various compositions of humidified hydrogen as fuel to simulate the effect of fuel utilization on cell performance. The electrochemical performances of the cells were analyzed using a polarization model, and it indicated that the anode active layer significantly improves the cell performance at high fuel utilization by lowering the anodic activation polarization.