A NiFeCu alloy catalyst for direct-methane solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract: In this study, a new anode catalyst based on NiFeCu alloy for direct-methane solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is investigated. How the conductive copper introduced into the anode catalyst layer influence the performance for SOFCs is systematically studied. The catalytic activity for partial oxidation of methane and coking resistance tests are proposed with various anode catalyst layer materials prepared by different routes including solution combustion, physical mixing and impregnation. The surface conductivity tests manifest that the conductivity of NiFe-ZrO2/Cu (PM) and NiFe-ZrO2/Cu (IMP) is much higher than NiFe-ZrO2/Cu (GNP), which is consistent with the SEM results. Among the three preparation methods, the cell with NiFe-ZrO2/Cu (IMP) catalyst layer performed best on CH4-O2 fuel, especially for the reduced temperatures since the coking resistance should be taken into consideration in the real fuel cell conditions. The cell with NiFe-ZrO2/Cu (IMP) catalyst layer also delivers an excellent operational stability on CH4-O2 fuel for 50 hours without any sign of decay. In summary, this work thus provides new alternative anode catalytic materials to accelerate the commercialization of SOFCs technology.