Enhancing the Catalytic Activity of Ce(Mn, Fe)O2 on a Perovskite-Based Electrode via Spraying for High-Temperature CO2 Electrolysis

Abstract

Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) have the potential to be highly efficient devices for high-temperature CO2electrolysis. However, commonly used Ni-based cathodes suffer from redox instability under CO/CO2 conditions. La(Sr)Cr(Mn)O3 (LSCM) is a promising alternative due to its coking resistance, but it has poor catalytic activity on CO2reduction. To address this, Ce(Mn, Fe)O2 (CMF) was added as a catalyst to accelerate CO2 adsorption. In this study, the non-touchable coating process by spraying was employed to fabricate the well-decorated embedded CMF on LSCM surface, without complicated pretreatment and infiltration. The performances of the highly decorated electrode surface with CMF nano catalyst were measured at 1123 K, exhibiting a maximum power density of 0.503 W cm-2 in fuel cell mode (H2) and electrolysis performance of 0.835 A cm-2 at 1.5 V in CO2 reduction. This approach shows potential for enhancing the catalytic activity of LSCM cathodes and advancing the development of SOECs for sustainable energy production.