Sulphur tolerant shift reaction catalysts for nickel-based SOFC anode

Abstract

In this paper, we will present that various metals mixed with ceria are good sulphur tolerant shift reaction catalysts. Without adding the shift catalyst to Ni-based anode, although stable fuel cell performance is achieved in carbon monoxide fuels, fuel cell experiences catastrophic degradation when adding 1 ppm hydrogen sulphide. While the nickel-based anode will still be poisoned by 1 ppm hydrogen sulphide in carbon monoxide fuels, the addition of catalysts to the anode side of the cell can provide stable performance after the adsorption–desorption equilibrium of sulphur on nickel is established. The authors believe that this combination of nickel-based anode and sulphur-tolerant shift catalyst could provide higher cell efficiency than using a copper-ceria anode alone for certain fuel mixtures leading to advantages for certain SOFC applications.