Evaluation of Sr0.88Y0.08TiO3–CeO2 as composite anode for solid oxide fuel cells running on CH4 fuel

Sr0.88Y0.08TiO3 (YST) was synthesized and the performance of a YST–CeO2 composite as an alternative anode for the direct utilization of CH4 in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) was investigated. X-ray diffraction showed that YST had good chemical compatibility with CeO2 and YSZ (8 mol% Y-doped ZrO2). The shrinkage of the YST–CeO2 composite on sintering was less than that of pure YSZ and CeO2, and its thermal-expansion behavior was similar to that of YSZ. With YSZ as electrolyte, ScSZ (10 mol% Sc-doped ZrO2)–LSM (La0.8Sr0.2MnO3) as cathode, and YST–CeO2 composite as anode, single cells were prepared and tested in both H2 and CH4. The maximum power density obtained at 900 °C was 161.7 mW cm−2 in H2 atmosphere and 141.3 mW cm−2 in CH4. The results demonstrated the potential of using YST–CeO2 composite as the anode for SOFCs.