AN IN SITU CATALYTIC AND ELECTROCHEMICAL STUDY OF WORKING Ni/ZrO_2 ANODES IN TUBULAR SOFCs

摘要

A catalytic test rig linked to a quadrupole mass spectrometer has been designed and built for the in situ study of tubular SOFC anodes. The apparatus allows electrochemical and catalytic measurements to be simultaneously made. Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR) reveals two distinct types of NiO present in the anode prior to reduction: bulk NiO, and NiO closely bound to ZrO_2. Doping the anode with small quantities of a transition-metal additive is found to affect the anode's reduction characteristics. The reduction of the anode has been studied under both open circuit and load conditions.