Efficient and stable iron based perovskite La0.9Ca0.1Fe0.9Nb0.1O3-δ anode material for solid oxide fuel cells

• La0.9Ca0.1Fe0.9Nb0.1O3-δ (LCFNb) is prepared by Nb doping in La0.9Ca0.1FeO3-δ.
• LCFNb and LCFNb/SDC are stable in both H2 and CO at 850 °C examined by XRD.
• A power density of 823 mW cm−2 at 800 °C in H2 is obtained with LCFNb/SDC anode.
• LCFNb/SDC gives a desirable anti-coking ability in CO and syngas for 50 h.
• LCFNb/SDC shows reasonable sulfur tolerance in 100 ppm H2SH2 for 20 h.

A novel La0.9Ca0.1Fe0.9Nb0.1O3-δ (LCFNb) perovskite for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) anode is prepared by means of the citrate-nitrate route and composited with Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 (SDC) by impregnation method to form nano-scaled LCFNb/SDC anode catalytic layers. The single cells with LCFNb and LCFNb/SDC impregnated anodes both achieve relatively high power output with maximum power densities (MPDs) reaching up to 610, 823 mW·cm−2 in H2 at 800 °C, respectively, presenting a high potential of LCFNb for use as SOFCs anode. The power outputs of the single cells with LCFNb/SDC composite anode in CO and syngas (COH2 mixture) are almost identical to that in H2 at each testing temperature. This composite anode also presents excellent durability in both H2 and CO for as long as 50 h, showing desirable anti-reduction and carbon deposition resistance abilities. Besides, the cell output is stable in 100 ppm H2SH2 atmospheres for 20 h at a current density of 600 mA·cm−2 with negligible sulfur accumulation on the anode surface. Hence, a novel iron based perovskite LCFNb anode with remarkable cell performance, carbon deposition resistance and sulfur poisoning tolerance for SOFCs is successfully obtained.