Electrochemical and microstructural characterization of the redox tolerance of solid oxide fuel cell anodes

The most commonly used solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anode material is a two phase nickel and yttria stabilized zirconia (Ni/YSZ) cermet. During typical fuel cell operation, this material remains a cermet; however, the anode may reoxidize in a commercial SOFC system due to seal leakage, fuel supply interruption, or system shutdown. The cyclic reduction and oxidation (redox) of nickel will result in large bulk volume changes, which may have a significant effect on the integrity of interfaces within the fuel cell and thus may cause significant performance degradation. A baseline of the redox behaviour of an anode-supported SOFC was developed using electrochemical testing and electron microscopy. During redox tests, the cellʹs initial performance was characterized and then a small amount of air was blown over the anode in order to reoxidize the cell. The cell was then reduced and the electrochemical performance was remeasured in order to determine the amount of redox degradation. Cell performance decreased slightly after each redox cycle, especially for redox times greater than 1 hour. The microstructural changes that occurred after redox cycling were characterized using scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM). Redox cycling significantly changed the microstructure of the anode substrate in the cell.