Performance and Electrochemical Behavior of LSM Based Fuel Electrode Materials Under High Temperature Electrolysis Conditions

Abstract

High-temperature solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) have gained considerable attention due to more favourable thermodynamic and electrochemical kinetic conditions over low-temperature electrolysis. The SOECs can be used for the production of hydrogen from steam electrolysis, syngas (H2 + CO) from co-electrolysis, and carbon mono-oxide from pure CO2 electrolysis. Despite several advantages, the long-term durability of SOECs is still an issue. The long-term durability of SOEC depends on the stability of electrodes as well as on the operational conditions, for example current load, temperature, and fuel gas composition. The conventional cermet-based fuel electrode i.e. Ni-YSZ shows good initial performance, however, it experiences severe degradation during long-term due to Ni- agglomeration and migration away from the electrolyte. Therefore, searching for new electrode materials is crucial in order to enhance the overall performance and durability of SOECs.In this work, we have considered Lanthanum strontium manganite-based perovskite oxides as fuel electrodes i.e. La0.6Sr0.4MnO3 (LSM). LSM is very stable chemically under oxidizing atmosphere, however, it undergoes phase transformation into a Ruddlesden-Popper (La0.6Sr0.4)2MnO4±δ phase under reducing atmosphere. We have first prepared the electrolyte-supported single cells using 8YSZ electrolyte and LSM+YSZ/LSM oxygen electrodes. The single cells were then electrochemically characterized using AC- and DC-techniques under steam electrolysis, co-electrolysis, and CO2-electrolysis conditions in 800-900 °C temperature range. Moreover, the electrochemical behaviour of LSM+GDC (50:50) and LSM+YSZ (50:50) composite electrodes containing single cells were also investigated. The LSM and LSM+GDC fuel electrode containing single cells show good electrochemical performance in all three electrolysis modes. However, lower performance is observed for LSM+YSZ fuel electrode containing single cell. For example, a current density of 997, 1025, and 511 mA.cm-2 at 1.5 V, are obtained for LSM, LSM+GDC, and LSM+YSZ fuel electrode containing single cells respectively, with 50% N2 and 50% H2O feed gas mixture at 900 °C. Furthermore, the impedance spectra were also recorded for all these cells under OCV and polarization conditions, and fitted with an equivalent circuit model using an inductor, a series resistance and 4 R//CPE elements. The impedance spectra vary significantly with the gas compositions. The detailed electrochemical results will be presented and discussed in detail.