Rational Design of Sulfur-Tolerant Anode Materials for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

摘要

The state-of-the-art nickel-yttria stabilized zirconia (Ni-YSZ) cermet anodes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are susceptible to poisoning by ppm-level sulfur contaminants (e.g., hydrogen sulfide, H_2S) typically found in most hydrocarbon fuels, leading to severe performance loss or even cell failure. This problem calls for the development of new sulfur-tolerant anode materials for SOFC with high electrochemical activity. In light of such a research need and the "trial-and-error" nature of many previous studies in this area, this paper describes an effective approach to rational design of sulfur-tolerant anode materials for SOFC. First, our selection of potential sulfur-tolerant anode materials is guided by the insights about the sulfur poisoning mechanism of conventional Ni-YSZ cermet anodes. Further, thermochemical analysis and properly-designed experiments are used as a powerful tool to quickly screen and narrow down on candidates that are worth further investigations.