Electrochemical assessment of one-step Cu-CGO cermets under hydrogen and biogas fuels

Abstract

CuO-Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95 (CuO-CGO) nanocomposite powders obtained by in situ one-step synthesis were used to prepare Cu-CGO cermet anodes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The effects of the CuO content (varying from 40 to 60 wt.%) on the lattice parameter and crystallite size of CuO and CGO phases were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) with Rietveld refinement of the XRD data. CuO-CGO composites were screen-printed on both faces of ceria-based substrates, fired at 1150 C, reduced to Cu-CGO cermets, and electrochemically characterized by impedance spectroscopy in hydrogen and synthetic biogas atmospheres. One-step Cu-CGO anodes with 40 wt.% CuO showed area specific resistances of 0.15 X. cm2 (in hydrogen) and 2.30 X.cm2 (in biogas) at 800 C. The anode performance is deteriorated by increasing the CuO content to 60 wt.%.