Improved activity and stability of Ni-Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 anode for solid oxide fuel cells fed with methanol through addition of molybdenum

•Mo is added into Ni-SDC anode for solid oxide fuel cells fed with methanol.•The addition of Mo decreases the anodic polarization resistance.•The single cell exhibits a maximum power density of 680 mW cm−2 at 700 °C.•The addition of Mo into Ni-SDC improves the resistance to carbon deposition.

Ni-Mo-Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 (SDC) composites are prepared and investigated as anodes of solid oxide fuel cells with methanol as fuel. The addition of Mo improves the catalytic activity for methanol pyrolysis and the resistance to carbon deposition of Ni-SDC anode. The anode with a mole ratio of Mo to Ni of 0.03:1 exhibits the lowest polarization resistance. The cell with that anode and SDC-carbonate composite electrolyte shows a maximum power density of 680 mW cm−2 at 700 °C. The stability of the cell is enhanced with the increase of the content of Mo in the anode, which is mainly attributed to the decreased amount of carbon deposits with a high graphitization degree.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide