High-efficiency, nickel-ceramic composite anode current collector for micro-tubular solid oxide fuel cells

High manufacturing cost and low-efficient current collection have been the two major bottlenecks that prevent micro-tubular SOFCs from large-scale application. In this work, a new nickel-based composite anode current collector has been developed for anode-supported MT-SOFC, addressing reduced cost, manufacturability and current collection efficiencies. Triple-layer hollow fibers have been successfully fabricated via a phase inversion-assisted co-extrusion process, during which a thin nickel-based inner layer was uniformly coated throughout the interior anode surface for improved adhesion with superior process economy. 10 wt.% CGO was added into the inner layer to prevent the excessive shrinkage of pure NiO, thus helping to achieve the co-sintering process. The electrochemical performance tests illustrate that samples with the thinnest anodic current collector (15% of the anode thickness) displayed the highest power density (1.07 W cm−2). The impedance analysis and theoretical calculations suggest that inserting the anodic current collector could dramatically reduce the percentage of contact loss down to 6-10 % of the total ohmic loss (compared to 70% as reported in literatures), which proves the high efficiencies of new current collector design. Moreover, the superior manufacturability and process economy suggest this composite current collector suitable for mass-scale production.