Nickel based anodes for single chamber solid oxide fuel cells : a catalytic study

Geoffroy Gadacz (1, 2, 3, 4) , Sorina Udriou (1, 2, 3) , Jean-Paul Viricelle (1, 2, 3) , Christophe Pijolat (1, 2, 3) , Michèle Pijolat (2, 3, 4)

1 MICC-ENSMSE - Département Microsystèmes, Instrumentation et Capteurs Chimiques
2 SPIN-ENSMSE - Centre Sciences des Processus Industriels et Naturels
3 LPMG-EMSE - Laboratoire des Procédés en Milieux Granulaires
4 ProcESS-ENSMSE - Département Procédés et évolution des systèmes avec solides

Single chamber solid oxide fuel cells (SCFC) are an alternative concept to traditional SOFC's. Conventional anodes, which consist of a cermet of metallic Ni and ionic conductor, have to work under a mixture of hydrocarbon and oxygen. This paper presents a catalytic study of C3H8 oxidation by Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95 and nickel. The influence of temperature and oxygen to propane ratio on the nickel oxidation state are clarified thanks to catalytic tests and electrical conductivity measurements. The results show that the temperature must be higher than a critical value in order to maintain the nickel particles in the metallic state. Furthermore, at high temperature, the conversion of the initial mixture leads to the water-gas-shift equilibrium.

Mots clés: anode; Nickel; single chamber; SOFC; solid oxide fuel cells; catalytic study; C3H8 oxidation; Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95; oxygen; propane; electrical conductivity measurements

Domaines: Génie des procédés

Geoffroy Gadacz, Sorina Udriou, Jean-Paul Viricelle, Christophe Pijolat, Michèle Pijolat. Nickel based anodes for single chamber solid oxide fuel cells : a catalytic study. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2010, 19 (8), pp.B1180-B1185. ⟨10.1149/1.3430074⟩. ⟨hal-00508540⟩