Preparation and electrochemical performance of silver impregnated Ni-YSZ anode for solid oxide fuel cell in dry methane

The Ni/YSZ composite anode has been widely explored for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). However, it is susceptible to carbon coking in hydrocarbons because of the high catalytic activity of Ni for carbon formation. In this paper, Ag particles were incorporated into Ni/YSZ anode to suppress the carbon deposition in hydrocarbons. The results showed that the performance of the modified cells was greatly increased as compared to the unmodified ones. The long term stability experiment was conducted for 100 h at 0.30 A/cm2 in dry CH4 at 1023 K indicating the anti-coking ability of the anode was greatly improved. The particle size and morphology of silver particles are the essential factors influencing the cell performance such as the maximum power density and long-term stability. Therefore, silver can be suggested as a promising candidate material for modifying the Ni/YSZ anode with regard to improving electrochemical performance and suppressing the carbon deposition.