An innovative efficient oxygen electrode for SOFC: Pr6O11 infiltrated into Gd-doped ceria backbone

Clément Nicollet (1) , Aurélien Flura (1) , Vaibhav Vibhu (1) , Aline Rougier (1) , Jean-Marc. Bassat (1) , Jean-Claude Grenier (1)

1 ICMCB - Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux

The praseodymium oxide, Pr6O11, is regarded as a potential electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction. Its mixed conductivity properties are characterized. At 600 °C the oxygen diffusion coefficient value is as high as 3.4 × 10−8 cm2 s−1, and that of the surface exchange coefficient is 5.4 × 10−7 cm s−1, which supposes excellent electrocatalytic properties. The measured electronic conductivity is high enough for using this material as a SOFC cathode. Herein, praseodymium nitrate is infiltrated into Gd doped ceria (GDC) backbone and fired at 600 °C to form a composite oxygen electrode Pr6O11/GDC. Electrochemical measurements show very low polarization resistance, Rp = 0.028 Ω cm2 at 600 °C. A single cell made of a commercial Ni-YSZ/YSZ half cell and of the infiltrated cathode is able to deliver a maximum power density of 825 mW cm−2 at 600 °C. Ageing of this cell for 840 h, at 600 °C and 0.5 A cm−2, shows a degradation rate lower than 1%.

Mots clés: Solid oxide fuel cells; Composite cathodes; Praseodymium oxide; Infiltration process; Ageing SOFC test; Solid oxide fuel cells

Domaines: Matériaux

Clément Nicollet, Aurélien Flura, Vaibhav Vibhu, Aline Rougier, Jean-Marc. Bassat, et al.. An innovative efficient oxygen electrode for SOFC: Pr6O11 infiltrated into Gd-doped ceria backbone. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2016, 41 (34), pp.15538-15544. ⟨10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.04.024⟩. ⟨hal-01360432⟩