Metal‐supported solid oxide fuel cells have several advantages, which could potentially increase the overall competitiveness of the technology, compared to their cermet‐supported counterparts. However, surface imperfections and rapid oxidation of the metal supports at operating temperatures are factors that affect the electrochemical performance and durability of the cells. In this study, we have developed bi‐layer metal supports consisting of a thin, finely structured top layer and a thicker, more coarsely structured bottom layer. The fine top layer has small surface pore sizes which facilitate the deposition of defect‐free electrolyte layers, while the coarse layer provides greater open porosity and larger pore sizes to facilitate mass transport and to decrease the rate of oxidation. An open circuit voltage (OCV) as high as 1.105 V at 750 °C in 3% humidified hydrogen is reported in this study, which deviates from the Nernst potential by only 5 mV. This result shows that the bi‐layer support has the potential to minimize electrode and electrolyte defects, which are known to be detrimental to cell performance. In addition, the bi‐layer supports show better oxidation resistance compared to benchmark finely‐structured single‐layer supports fabricated in this study for comparison.
In this study, metal‐supported solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anodes containing Cu and samaria doped ceria (SDC) with additions of Ni and Co were evaluated in CH4. It was found that metal support oxidation and Fe diffusion from the metal support to the anode were the main factors affecting the cell behavior observed. Thus, strategies to prevent diffusion of Fe into the anode were also evaluated. It was found that the best performing method to prevent diffusion of Fe and Cr into the anode in this study consisted of a combination of all three evaluated strategies (i.e., pre‐oxidation of metal support prior to cell fabrication, application of a protective LaCrO3 coating to the metal supports prior to anode fabrication, and addition of an SDC interlayer between the metal support and anode coating). It was found that the most effective stand‐alone method to diminish the diffusion of Fe into the anode was the addition of a SDC interlayer between the anode and the metal support.
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