Electrochemical and Catalytic Behavior of Ni-Based Cermet Anode for Ammonia-Fueled SOFCs

Abstract

In this work, a conventional solid oxide fuel cell, Ni‒YSZ|YSZ|LSM, was prepared and the mechanism of electro-oxidation of ammonia over Ni‒YSZ anode was studied. Especially, we focused on the correlation between the catalytic activity of anode for ammonia decomposition and cell performance. This systematic investigation has revealed that ammonia is catalytically decomposed into H2 and N2, and then H2 produced is electrochemically oxidized over anode. Furthermore, the operating temperature and hydrogen concentration had a great impact on ammonia decomposition as well as cell performance. These results provided the strategy for the development of anode materials for direct ammonia-fueled SOFCs.