Abstract
Metal catalysts have been employed as cathodes for solid oxide fuel cells to facilitate the surface exchange rate in the intermediate temperature range (600–800 °C). However, incorporated metal catalysts easily agglomerate, resulting in the loss of the reaction sites; thus, the electrochemical performance rapidly deteriorates over time. To hinder the agglomeration of metal catalysts while maintaining the catalytic activity, we encapsulated metal catalysts with nano-particulated perovskite materials using an infiltration technique. The encapsulation of Ag nanoparticles with nano-particulated Sm0.5Sr0.5CoO3-δ (SSC) successfully prevented the agglomeration of Ag nanoparticles, maintaining the initial polarization resistance for 200 h at 650 °C, while the polarization resistance of the SSC electrodes with the Ag nanoparticles increased by ~ 190% after 200 h at 650 °C because of the thermal agglomeration of Ag nanoparticles.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Wachsman, E. D., & Lee, K. T. (2011). Lowering the temperature of solid oxide fuel cells. Science, 334, 935–939.
Brett, D. J., Atkinson, A., Brandon, N. P., & Skinner, S. J. (2008). Intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells. Chemical Society Reviews, 37, 1568–1578.
Choi, M., Hwang, S., Kim, S. J., Lee, J., Byun, D., & Lee, W. (2019). Rational design of a metallic functional layer for high-performance solid oxide fuel cells. ACS Applied Energy Materials, 2, 4059–4068.
Kim, S. J., Choi, M., Lee, J., & Lee, W. (2020). Modifying defect structures at interfaces for high-performance solid oxide fuel cells. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 40, 3089–3097.
Koo, J. Y., Mun, T., Lee, J., Choi, M., Kim, S. J., & Lee, W. (2020). Enhancement of oxygen reduction reaction kinetics using infiltrated yttria-stabilized zirconia interlayers at the electrolyte/electrode interfaces of solid oxide fuel cells. Journal of Power Sources, 472, 228606.
Lee, J., Hwang, S., Ahn, M., Choi, M., Han, S., Byun, D., & Lee, W. (2019). Enhanced interface reactivity by a nanowrinkled functional layer for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 7, 21120–21127.
Chang, I., Ji, S., Park, J., Lee, M. H., & Cha, S. W. (2015). Ultrathin YSZ coating on Pt cathode for high thermal stability and enhanced oxygen reduction reaction activity. Advanced Energy Materials, 5, 1402251.
Sahibzada, M., Benson, S., Rudkin, R., & Kilner, J. (1998). Pd-promoted La0. 6Sr0. 4Co0. 2Fe0. 8O3 cathodes. Solid State Ionics, 113, 285–290.
Wang, S., Kato, T., Nagata, S., Honda, T., Kaneko, T., Iwashita, N., & Dokiya, M. (2002). Performance of a La0. 6Sr0. 4Co0. 8Fe0. 2O3–Ce0. 8Gd0. 2O1. 9–Ag cathode for ceria electrolyte SOFCs. Solid State Ionics, 146, 203–210.
Choi, H. J., Kim, M., Neoh, K. C., Jang, D. Y., Kim, H. J., Shin, J. M., et al. (2017). High-performance silver cathode surface treated with scandia-stabilized zirconia nanoparticles for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells. Advanced Energy Materials, 7, 1601956.
Li, H., Kang, H.-S., Grewal, S., Nelson, A. J., Song, S. A., & Lee, M. H. (2020). How an angstrom-thick oxide overcoat enhances durability and activity of nanoparticle-decorated cathodes in solid oxide fuel cells. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 8, 15927.
Liu, K.-Y., Baek, J. D., Ng, C. S., & Su, P.-C. (2018). Improving thermal stability of nanoporous platinum cathode at platinum/yttria-stabilized zirconia interface by oxygen plasma treatment. Journal of Power Sources, 396, 73–79.
Pi, S.-H., Lee, J.-W., Lee, S.-B., Lim, T.-H., Park, S.-J., Park, C.-O., & Song, R.-H. (2014). Performance and durability of anode-supported flat-tubular solid oxide fuel cells with Ag-Infiltrated cathodes. Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 14, 7668–7673.
Ryu, S., Yu, W., Chang, I., Park, T., Cho, G. Y., & Cha, S. W. (2020). Three dimensional YSZ interface engineering layer for enhancement of oxygen reduction reactions of low temperature solid oxide fuel cells. Ceramics International, 46, 12648–12655.
Shin, J. W., Oh, S., Lee, S., Yu, J.-G., Park, J., Go, D., et al. (2019). Ultrathin atomic layer-deposited CeO2 overlayer for high-performance fuel cell electrodes. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 11, 46651–46657.
Choi, M., Lee, J., & Lee, W. (2018). Nano-film coated cathode functional layers towards high performance solid oxide fuel cells. Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 6, 11811–11818.
Choi, M., Lee, J., & Lee, W. (2019). Fluid mechanical approaches for rational design of infiltrated electrodes of solid oxide fuel cells. International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology, 6, 53–61.
Adler, S. B. (2004). Factors governing oxygen reduction in solid oxide fuel cell cathodes. Chemical Reviews, 104, 4791–4844.
Smith, J., Chen, A., Gostovic, D., Hickey, D., Kundinger, D., Duncan, K., et al. (2009). Evaluation of the relationship between cathode microstructure and electrochemical behavior for SOFCs. Solid State Ionics, 180, 90–98.
Zhou, W., Ran, R., Shao, Z., Cai, R., Jin, W., Xu, N., & Ahn, J. (2008). Electrochemical performance of silver-modified Ba0. 5Sr0. 5Co0. 8Fe0. 2O3−δ cathodes prepared via electroless deposition. Electrochimica Acta, 53, 4370–4380.
Ahn, M., Lee, J., & Lee, W. (2017). Nanofiber-based composite cathodes for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells. Journal of Power Sources, 353, 176–182.
Chang, C.-L., Hsu, C.-S., Huang, J.-B., Hsu, P.-H., & Hwang, B.-H. (2015). Preparation and characterization of SOFC cathodes made of SSC nanofibers. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 620, 233–239.
Fu, Y.-P., Ouyang, J., Li, C.-H., & Hu, S.-H. (2013). Chemical bulk diffusion coefficient of Sm0. 5Sr0. 5CoO3−δ cathode for solid oxide fuel cells. Journal of Power Sources, 240, 168–177.
Jiang, S. P. (2012). Nanoscale and nano-structured electrodes of solid oxide fuel cells by infiltration: advances and challenges. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 37, 449–470.
Karimaghaloo, A., Koo, J., Kang, H.-S., Song, S. A., Shim, J. H., & Lee, M. H. (2019). Nanoscale surface and interface engineering of solid oxide fuel cells by atomic layer deposition. International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing-Green Technology, 6, 1–18.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea(NRF) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIP) (No. 2019R1A2C4070158).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lee, J., Choi, M. & Lee, W. Encapsulation of Metal Catalysts for Stable Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cathodes. Int. J. of Precis. Eng. and Manuf.-Green Tech. 8, 1529–1535 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40684-020-00290-8
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40684-020-00290-8