Comparison of the Performance of Cu-CeO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e-YSZ and Ni-YSZ Composite SOFC Anodes with H\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e, CO, and Syngas

In this study the performance of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with Cu-CeO2-yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) was compared to an SOFC with Ni-YSZ anode while operating on H2, CO, and syngas fuels. Cells with Cu-CeO2-YSZ anodes exhibited similar performance when operating on H2 or CO fuels, while cells with Ni-YSZ anodes exhibited substantially lower performance when operating on CO compared to H2. Enhancing the catalytic activity of the Cu-CeO2-YSZ anodes by adding Co was shown to produce cells that exhibited higher performance when operating on CO compared to H2 at 973 K. The effect of fuel concentration and dilution on cell performance was also investigated and it was found that the kinetics of the oxidation of H2 are positive order in PH2 for Cu-CeO2-YSZ anodes and nearly zero order in PH2 for Ni-YSZ anodes. The oxidation of CO on Cu-CeO2-YSZ anodes was also found to exhibit positive order in PCO. It was also demonstrated that dilution of H2 by H2O had little effect on the kinetics of H2 oxidation on both the Cu-CeO2-YSZ and Ni-YSZ anodes