Enhancing the Performanceof Sr₂Fe_1.3Ni_0.2Mo_0.5O_6-δ as Methane-Fueled SOFC Anode via In-Situ Exsolution of Ni-FeNano-Catalyst

Abstract

The Sr₂Fe_1.5Mo_0.5O_6-δ (SFMO) perovskite exhibits promising performance as a solid oxide fuel cell(SOFC) anode for hydrogen fuel but demonstrates limited catalytic activity withhydrocarbon fuels. To address this limitation, a Sr₂Fe_1.3Ni_0.2Mo_0.5O_6-δ (SFNMO) perovskite was developed via B-site Ni substitution, and its in-situ exsolution behavior and methane electrooxidation performance weresystematically investigated. Combined XRD, SEM, and TEM-EDS analyses revealthe in-situ exsolution of Ni-rich Ni-Fe alloy nanoparticles from theSFNMO matrix under a hydrogen atmosphere. A symmetrical SOFC employing Gd_0.1Ce_0.9O_2-δ (GDC) electrolyte and SFNMO electrodes achieved an initial maximum powerdensity of 82 mW cm^-2 in wet methane fuel at 800 ℃, which representsan approximately 33% improvement over the symmetrical cell with SFMO electrode(61 mW cm^-2). Remarkably, the cell maintained stable operation underconstant current for 50 h in methane fuel, with the peak power density furtherincreasing to 113 mW cm^-2, demonstrating the excellent catalyticactivity of the in-situ exsolved Ni-Fe nanoparticles for methaneconversion.

Keywords

Solid oxide fuel cell / Perovskite / In-situ Exsolution / Methane conversion

Acknowledgments

The authors express gratitude to the fund of National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52302281), Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. ZR2022MB060), and Qingdao Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 23-2-1-225-zyyd-jch) for providing financial support for this study.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, Z.H.; Methodology, H.D.; Formal Analysis, H.D. and S.J.; Investigation, H.D. and S.J.; Writing—Original Draft Preparation, H.D.; Writing—Review & Editing, Z.H.; Visualization, H.D.; Supervision, Z.H.; Funding Acquisition, Z.H.

Ethics Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

Data will be made available on request.

Funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52302281), Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. ZR2022MB060), and Qingdao Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 23-2-1-225-zyyd-jch).

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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