Nanocomposite Catalyst for High-Performance and Durable Intermediate-Temperature Methane-Fueled Metal-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells.

CH ₄ -fueled metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells (CH ₄ -MS-SOFCs) are propitious as CH ₄ is low-priced and readily available, and its renewable production is possible, such as biomethane. However, the current CH ₄ -MS-SOFCs suffer from either poor power density or short durable operation, which is ascribed to the low catalytic activity and poor coking tolerance of the metallic anode support. Herein, we have deliberately designed and synthesized a highly active nanocomposite catalyst, Sm-doped CeO ₂ -supported Ni, as the internal steam methane reforming catalyst, to optimize CH ₄ -MS-SOFCs. Both power densities and durability of optimized CH ₄ -MS-SOFCs have been dramatically enhanced compared to the pristine CH ₄ -MS-SOFCs. The optimized CH ₄ -MS-SOFCs deliver the highest performances among all zirconia-based CH ₄ -MS-SOFCs. Furthermore, the operating temperature has been reduced to 600 °C. At 600 °C, a viable peak power density of >350 mW/cm ² is achieved, which is more than three times as high as the pristine CH ₄ -MS-SOFCs. Furthermore, the optimized CH ₄ -MS-SOFC achieves >1000 h of stable operation.