Electrochemical performances of solid oxide fuel cells based on Y-substituted SrTiO3 ceramic anode materials

Yttrium-substituted SrTiO3 has been considered as anode material of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) substituting of the state-of-the-art Ni cermet anodes. Sr0.895Y0.07TiO3−δ (SYT) shows good electrical conductivity, compatible thermal expansion with yttria-stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ) electrolyte and reliable stability during reduction and oxidation (redox) cycles. Single cells based on SYT anode substrates were fabricated in the dimension of 50 mm × 50 mm. The cell performances were over 1.0 A cm−2 at 0.7 V and 800 °C, which already reached the practical application level. Although Ti diffusion from SYT substrates to YSZ electrolytes was observed, it did not show apparent disadvantage to the cell performance. The cells survived 200 redox cycles without obvious OCV decrease and macroscopic damage, but performance decreased due to the electronic properties of the SYT material. The influence of water partial pressure on cell performance and coking tolerance of the cells are also discussed in this study.