Effect of cathode gas humidification on performance and durability of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

The effect of cathode inlet gas humidification was studied on single anode supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC's). The studied cells were Risø 2 G and 2.5 G. The former consists of a LSM:YSZ composite cathode, while the latter consists of a LSCF:CGO composite cathode on a CGO protection layer respectively. A clear effect of humidification was observed for 2 G cells with a fast transient upon humidification followed by an ongoing long term passivation/degradation during humidification. Removal of humidification resulted in a partial regain of the cell voltage prior to humidification. The humidification effect was found to be dependent on both the degree of humidification and the cathode polarization. No significant effect of humidification was found at OCV which rules out the possibility of a traditional poisoning effect with a blocking of active sites. Post-mortem high resolution FEG-SEM analysis showed clear changes at and around the cathode/electrolyte contact area. In contrast to Risø 2 G cells, a very high tolerance towards humidification of cathode gas air was observed for Risø 2.5 G cells with no detectable effect of humidification even when the humidification was as high as 12.8 mol%.