Experimental investigation into tungsten carbide thin films as solid oxide fuel cell anodes. Issue 19 (13th September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jiang, Jun; Guan, Xiaofei; Lattimer, Judith; Friend, Cynthia; Verma, Atul; Tsuchiya, Masaru; Ramanathan, Shriram
• Is Part Of: Journal of materials research. Volume 31:Issue 19(2016)
• Page Start: 3050
• Page End: 3059
• Publication Date: 2016-09-13
• Subjects: ceramic, -- energy generation, -- catalytic; Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; 620.1105
• DOI: 10.1557/jmr.2016.312
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0884-2914

Abstract

Abstract: Abstract : Refractory carbides possess metal-like electronic and catalytic properties, which make them interesting candidates for anodes in solid oxide fuel cells. However, significant challenges include phase instability due to electrochemical potential gradient driven oxidation. This requires an understanding of both the chemical thermodynamics in operating environments along with direct measurement of the catalytic activity in fuel mixtures. Here, we present an experimental study on nanostructured WC as an anode for solid oxide fuel cells operating at 300–500 °C. This is enabled by combining calculated thermochemical equilibria validated against experiments at the material level and in fuel cell devices combined with flow reactor studies on fuel-selective catalytic activity directly at working anode interfaces. With an optimized anode microstructure and hydrogen–methane fuel mixtures, WC anode-based solid oxide fuel cells are shown to achieve a near-ideal open circuit voltage of 1.1 V at 500 °C.