Ceria-based SOFC development

The advantages of lowering the operating temperature of solid oxide fuel cells have led to efforts to develop fuel cells based on electrolytes like ceria which have a higher conductivity than zirconia. Lowering the operating temperature, however, causes increased electrode polarization. The currently used cathode material for higher temperature operation, lanthanum manganite, is inadequate for operation below 650--700{degrees}C. Therefore, to develop fuel cells for operation at 500{degrees}C, new electrode materials need to be. developed. It is recognized that the cathode performance requires the most improvement due to significantly slower oxygen reduction kinetics and/or oxygen diffusion kinetics through the electrode. In fact, for fuel cells made with thin electrolytes, the cathode accounts for up to 90% of the total voltage loss under load. Results on fuel cell tests in methanol and hydrogen and on new cathode materials are reported here. The results on new cathode materials are compared with known material properties, like nonstoichiometry and oxygen diffusion coefficients