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

CH4-fueled metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells (CH4-MS-SOFCs) are propitious as CH4 is low-priced and readily available, and its renewable production is possible, such as biomethane. However, the current CH4-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 CeO2-supported Ni, as the internal steam methane reforming catalyst, to optimize CH4-MS-SOFCs. Both power densities and durability of optimized CH4-MS-SOFCs have been dramatically enhanced compared to the pristine CH4-MS-SOFCs. The optimized CH4-MS-SOFCs deliver the highest performances among all zirconia-based CH4-MS-SOFCs. Furthermore, the operating temperature has been reduced to 600 °C. At 600 °C, a viable peak power density of >350 mW/cm2 is achieved, which is more than three times as high as the pristine CH4-MS-SOFCs. Furthermore, the optimized CH4-MS-SOFC achieves >1000 h of stable operation.