The catalytic effect of impregnated (La, Sr)(Ti, Mn)O3±δ with CeO2 and Pd as potential anode materials in high temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract

In this study, the catalytic effects and electrochemical properties of CeO2 and Pd catalysts on La0.4Sr0.6Ti0.8Mn0.2O3±δ (LSTM) were analyzed. The introduction of CeO2 resulted in an advanced improvement of the polarization resistance values and hence in the performance. The optimized composition of CeO2 with LSTM was observed with the addition of 20% of CeO2 to LSTM-8mol % Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 (8YSZ). The power densities of this composite anode system measured at 800 and 850 °C were 196 and 302 mW cm−2. When 1 wt% of Pd and 20 wt% CeO2 were used as catalysts, the power density of the sample was 251 mW cm−2 at 800 °C caused by the advanced catalytic activity towards H2 oxidation. Significantly, the more CeO2 was impregnated, the smaller the observed ohmic resistance (Rs) was, because the relatively high electrical conductivity from the CeO2 compensated the lower conductivity property of the LSTM-8YSZ composite.The effects of catalysts such as CeO2 and Pd were also investigated with respect to the different application order on the LSTM-8YSZ scaffold. The optimal sequence of CeO2 and Pd was 20 wt% CeO2 formed on the LSTM-8YSZ scaffold followed by 1 wt% of Pd.