Nanoengineering of electrodes via infiltration: an opportunity for developing large-area solid oxide fuel cells with high power density

Abstract

Although nanoengineering of electrodes opens up the way to the development of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with improved performance, the practical implementation of such advances in cells suitable for widespread use remains a challenge. Here, the demonstration of large-area, commercially relevant SOFCs with two nanoengineered electrodes that display excellent performance is reported. The self-assembled nanocomposite La_0.6Sr_0.4CoO_3−δ and Co₃O₄ is strategically designed and deposited into the well-interconnected Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_2−δ backbone as a cathode to enable an ultra-large electrochemically active region. The nanometer-scale Ce_0.8Gd_0.2O_2−δ is deposited into a conventional Ni/yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) anode to provide more active oxygen exchange kinetics and electronic conductivity compared to YSZ. The resulting nanoengineered cell with an effective size of 4 cm × 4 cm delivers a remarkable power output of 19.2 W per single cell at 0.6 V and 750 °C. These advancements have potential to facilitate the future development of high-performance SOFCs at a large scale by nanoengineering of electrodes and are expected to pave the way for the commercialization of this technology.