Papers by Keyword: SOFC

Abstract: Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) are among the most promising clean energy technologies, yet their widespread commercialization is hindered by high operating temperatures, material degradation, and cost challenges. Recent advances in anode, cathode, and electrolyte materials have enabled SOFCs to operate efficiently at intermediate temperatures (500–800 °C), thereby reducing thermal stress and manufacturing costs. For instance, gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) has demonstrated up to three times higher ionic conductivity than yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) at 600 °C, while perovskite-based cathodes such as LSCF (La₀.₆Sr₀.₄Co₀.₂Fe₀.₈O₃−δ) exhibit superior catalytic activity and stability compared to conventional lanthanum manganite. This review critically analyzes the progress in SOFC material development, highlights key fabrication strategies such as spin coating and advanced thin-film deposition, and evaluates techno-economic considerations for scaling up. The study also outlines future research directions including nanostructuring, hybrid electrolytes, and durability testing to accelerate commercialization.

Abstract: This paper discussed various types of pore formers that have previously been applied as porosity enhancers in the NiO YSZ-based planar SOFC anode since porosity plays an important role to easily diffuse the fuel, thus increasing the triple-phase boundary area and electrochemical performance. Therefore, this study emphasized reviewing recent experiments to find out more effective pore formers by making a comparison between natural (rice starch), polymer-based (PMMA), and carbon-based materials such as graphite. It has been found that rice starch at 7 vol.% gives 10.05% porosity at 1000 °C while activated carbon graphite gives only 4.25%. PMMA shows the highest porosity of 41% at 30 vol.% at 250 °C with almost no residue left behind as proven via TGA analysis which showed only about 0.7%. These findings highlight not only the benefits but also the compromises of each approach, whether in terms of residue formation, mechanical stability, or processing cost. The review further suggests that hybrid strategies, which combine different poreformers, could offer a more balanced route toward improved microstructures. Finally, future directions are outlined, with emphasis on nanostructured agents, scalable fabrication methods, and techno-economic considerations to support the commercial adoption of SOFC technology.

Abstract: High-temperature oxidation is a widely studied topic in the field of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells as it commonly affects the steels used in stacks and other system components. Considering the targeted lifetime of systems using this technology (> 60kh), long-term testing is required to certify material properties throughout the life cycle. The design of accelerated testing is often cited as a way to speed the development and validation of materials for these components. In this work, the effect of pressure (1 to 4 bar) at various operating temperatures (750 to 850°C) on the oxidation kinetics and electrical properties of AISI 441 steel was investigated. While oxide growth was affected by pressure at all test temperatures, electrical properties showed significant changes only at 850°C. The results were supported by theoretical calculations of the oxidation and chromium evaporation kinetics of the steel.

Abstract: In this paper, we report the properties of Sm and Zr co-doped CeO₂ ceramic, which synthesized by conventional solid state reaction. Sm content in Ce site was fixed at 20 mol%, meanwhile Zr was varied in the range of 5 to 15 mol%. All samples was pressed under 26 MPa before sintered at 1400 °C for 5 hours. The X-ray diffraction patterns of samples confirm all the samples are in single-phase with cubic fluorite structure. The lattice parameter decreases with increase in Zr concentration. The relative density of all samples was more that 95%. The microhardness achieved highest value for sample with 0.05 mol% of Zr. The shrinkage and the change of bulk density shows direct correlation.

Abstract: Solid oxide fuel cell has become one of the interest in the sustainable energy field. In order to improve the efficiency of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), the interconnect must be coated with a protective coating of (MnCO)₃O₄ spinel coated stainless steel. Commercial manganese cobalt (MnCO)₃O₄ was used as a protective coating on ferritic stainless steel in this study using the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) coating technique. This article examines the impact of voltage deposition towards morphological characteristics. The goals of these studies are to find the best interconnect coating parameter while experimenting with voltage deposition. The spinel coated interconnect (MnCO)₃O₄ was studied using Elemental Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). The surface morphology and coating thickness are examined using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD) is used to determine the phase of the spinel coated interconnect. The EPD coating technique for (MnCO)₃O₄ spinel coated interconnect is carried out in an aqueous suspension with 30V and 40V with coating durations of 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. By observing the deposition morphology and thickness coating at 30V and 40V, the best covering parameter for interconnect is 30V, 40s which fulfil the interconnect requirement.

Abstract: The evaporation of volatile chromium species from ferritic stainless steels (FSSs) used as interconnect is well-known as degradation source for planar solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks. This work presents a feasibility study to quantify chromium evaporation from FSSs. It is based on measuring carbon dioxide produced by an intermediate reaction. Cr evaporated is collected by sodium carbonate forming sodium chromate and carbon dioxide. Measuring the resulting carbon dioxide allowed to quantify online the amount of reacted chromium with the carbonates. The post-experiment quantification of sodium chromate confirmed the applicability of the proposed method.

Abstract: Several ferritic stainless steel grades are widely studied and used in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) technology as interconnect materials. Their high-temperature oxidation behavior is interesting to evaluate their applicability at SOFCs operating conditions and to design degradation tests and models predicting the lifetime of a SOFC stack. In this work the AISI441 grade was oxidized in static air at 850°C to study its oxidation kinetic by weight gain measurements. It was found a parabolic growth with a rate constant of 9.42 x 10^-14 g²cm^-4s^-1. Data calculated using the diffusion coefficients of the species involved in the oxidation process resulted in higher weight gain. Discrepancies between the measurements and the model were corrected taking into account the chromium volatilization.

Abstract: A low operating temperature is one of the concerns in commercialising solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) as a portable power source. The aim of this research is to develop a new cathode material, barium strontium cobalt ferrite–samarium doped ceria (BSCF-SDC) added with argentum (Ag) for low-temperature SOFCs (LT-SOFCs). The composite powder was prepared through high-energy ball milling at 550 rpm for 2 h with a BSCF:SDC powder ratio of 50:50. The composite powder was calcined at 950 °C for 2 h and then mixed with Ag (1wt%, 3wt% and 5wt%) via dry milling at 150 rpm. The phase stability of the resulting samples was examined by X-ray diffractometry, and powder particle sizes were determined by using a Zeta-Sizer Nano ZS. The thermal stability of each sample was determined on the basis of thermal expansion coefficients (TECs), and electrochemical characteristics were determined through electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to investigate the performance of BSCF-SDC-Ag in LT-SOFCs (400–600 °C). Phase analysis demonstrated no impurity phases existed. Particle size analysis revealed that increment in Ag content affect the particle size of BSCF-SDCC. TEC analysis demonstrated that BSCF-SDC-Ag1% has a mismatch value of 16.39%, which is within the acceptable TEC range of 15%–20%. BSCF-SDC-Ag1% showed a maximum conductivity of 39.37Scm^-1 at 600 °C.

Abstract: Fuel cell is an electrochemical cell which converts chemical energy into electricity via electrochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen gases. It is also an alternative energy with environmental friendly. Generally, the fuel cell consists of many parts. Electrolyte is an important part for fuel cell because it has high ion conductivity which leads to increase electrical conductivity of the fuel cell. In case solid oxide fuel cell, barium cerate-based ceramics have been much attention due to their good properties for the fuel cell. In this work, the BaCe_1-xY_xO_3-δ (x = 0.20) ceramic was synthesized by a solid state reaction in order to study their mechanical and electrical properties. The ceramic was sintered at high temperature of 1500°C with various soaking times. The crystalline phase structure was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The surface morphologies was observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The impedance properties was measured by LCR meter. The obtained results suggestes that the ceramic sinter at 1500°C with 15 h dewell time shows the best properties as compared to other ceramics.

Abstract: Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) systems are considered to be the most competitive green energy technology in the future because of their high energy conversion rates, low emissions and multiple fuels available. High temperature heat exchanger plays an important role in the system. The process system requires the design of heat exchangers to achieve operating temperature (700-800 °C), cross-temperature (>500°C) and low pressure drop in the smallest space, which is a challenge to the choice of materials. In this paper, the performances (Tensile strength, yield strength, linear expansion coefficient, and thermal conductivity coefficient) and price of high temperature alloy materials (304H, 310S, incoloy800H and Incoloy625) in the current application environment are compared. The applicable material (310S) of heat exchanger is determined. It provides a material basis for research and development of high temperature heat exchangers in SOFC system and commercialization.