Feasibility of alternative electrode materials for high temperature CO2 reduction on solid oxide electrolysis cell

Abstract

The electrochemical performance of Ni–gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) cathode was studied for CO2 reduction on solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) at 1000 °C and compared with that of Ni–yttria stabilized zirconia (Ni–YSZ) cathode. Ni–GDC cathode demonstrated higher performance for CO2 reduction. Furthermore, lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite (LSCF) anode exhibited lower overpotential than lanthanum strontium manganite–yttria stabilized zirconia (LSM–YSZ) anode. Ni–GDC cathode and LSCF anode were found to be stable under a constant current density of −0.90 A cm−2 at 900 °C. Moreover, no substantial performance degradation was observed for the cell having Ni–GDC cathode and LSCF anode even after 9 h of electrolysis operation under a constant current density of −1.2 A cm−2 at 1000 °C.