Abstract
The solid oxide cell is a basis for highly efficient and reversible electrochemical energy conversion. A single cell based on a planar electrolyte substrate as support (ESC) is often utilized for SOFC/SOEC stack manufacturing and fulfills necessary requirements for application in small, medium and large scale fuel cell and electrolysis systems. Thickness of the electrolyte substrate, and its ionic conductivity limits the power density of the ESC. To improve the performance of this cell type in SOFC/SOEC mode, alternative fuel electrodes, on the basis of Ni/CGO as well as electrolytes with reduced thickness, have been applied. Furthermore, different interlayers on the air side have been tested to avoid the electrode delamination and to reduce the cell degradation in electrolysis mode. Finally, the influence of the contacting layer on cell performance, especially for cells with an ultrathin electrolyte and thin electrode layers, has been investigated. It has been found that Ni/CGO outperform traditional Ni/8YSZ electrodes and the introduction of a ScSZ interlayer substantially reduces the degradation rate of ESC in electrolysis mode. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that, for thin electrodes, the application of contacting layers with good conductivity and adhesion to current collectors improves performance significantly.
Highlights
The electrolyte supported planar solid oxide fuel cell (ESC) is the most widespread cell type utilized in commercial SOFC stacks/systems
The long-term, redox and thermal cycling stability of electrolyte supported cells based on 3 mole % Y2 O3 stabilized ZrO2 (3YSZ) [1], 6 mole % Sc2 O3 stabilized ZrO2 (6ScSZ) [2] and 10 mole % Sc2 O3 stabilized ZrO2 with 1 mole % CeO2 addition
Performance and stability of electrolyte supported cells for operation in SOFC and SOEC modes was significantly enhanced by the substitution of the traditional Ni/8YSZ fuel electrode with Ni/GDC
Summary
The electrolyte supported planar solid oxide fuel cell (ESC) is the most widespread cell type utilized in commercial SOFC stacks/systems. The long-term, redox and thermal cycling stability of electrolyte supported cells based on 3 mole % Y2 O3 stabilized ZrO2 (3YSZ) [1], 6 mole % Sc2 O3 stabilized ZrO2 (6ScSZ) [2] and 10 mole % Sc2 O3 stabilized ZrO2 with 1 mole % CeO2 addition (10Sc1CeSZ) [3] has been demonstrated and improved in the course of continuous development; cost-effective ESC is available as a commercial product [4,5]. Developed cells currently satisfy major requirements (thermal cycling, accident events such as load throw-off, abrupt cooling down and anode oxidation) for use in robust SOFC systems and are used in SOFC stacks of Bloom. Significant gain in cell performance has been achieved in recent years [4,6,7], there is still considerable opportunity for further improvement through the optimization of materials and the microstructure of electrodes, combined with an engineering focus on the volume manufacturing processes (screen printing, co-firing etc.), reproducibility and cost reduction.
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