Cathode supports of SOFCs with a hierarchical pore structure

Cathode-supported SOFCs are attractive for the potential utilization of hydrocarbons as fuels to generate electricity because Cu-based anodes can be used to deal with coke formation in the Ni-base anodes. However, Cu-based anodes cannot be used in anode-supported SOFCs because the high sintering tem...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dong, Dehua, Shao, X., Wang, Z., Parkinson, G., Li, C.
Format: Conference Paper
Published: Electrochemical Society Inc. 2013
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/14207
Description
Summary:Cathode-supported SOFCs are attractive for the potential utilization of hydrocarbons as fuels to generate electricity because Cu-based anodes can be used to deal with coke formation in the Ni-base anodes. However, Cu-based anodes cannot be used in anode-supported SOFCs because the high sintering temperatures (above 1350 °C) required for the formation of a dense electrolyte film may melt the Cu-based anodes. Compared with anode materials, cathode materials show higher sinterability, which leads to a low porosity of the supporting cathodes and in turn high gas diffusion resistance within the cathodes. To get around this problem, a novel supporting cathode with efficient gas diffusion channels will be developed in this study in order to achieve high performances in power generation.