Fabrication of an electrolyte-supported protonic ceramic fuel cell with nano-sized powders of Ni-composite anode.

Composite anodes of nano-sized Ni and Ba(Zr 0.85 Y 0.15)O 3-δ (BZY) were fabricated by infiltrating a single precursor solution of BZY and Ni into the BZY scaffold, and decreasing the calcination temperature to 1173 K. This decrease in the fabrication temperature of the Ni-cermet anode prevents the chemical reaction between the electrolyte and nickel, thus preventing a reduction in the conductivity of the electrolyte. By optimizing the amount of Ni in the Ni-cermet and infiltrating additional catalysts such as CeO 2 and Pd, the non-ohmic ASR of the Ni-cermet anode could be optimized. This resulted in a smaller non-ohmic ASR of anode than one that was fabricated by the conventional co-sintering method. Consequently, a high power density of 790 mW/cm2 at 973 K can be obtained from electrolyte-supported cells. • BZY-Ni composite anode were successfully fabricated at low temperature of 1173 K. • Chemical reaction of Ni and electrolyte was prevented by low temperature fabrication. • No degradation of ionic conductivity of electrolyte owing to the Ni incorporation. • Additional catalysts of CeO 2 and Pd in BZY-Ni improved the performance further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]