Promotion of water-mediated carbon removal by nanostructured.pdfVIP

ARTICLE Received 1 oct 2010 | Accepted 19 may 2011 | Published 21 Jun 2011 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1359 Promotion of water-mediated carbon removal by nanostructured barium oxide/nickel interfaces in solid oxide fuel cells 1 2 1 3 1 1 2 4 Lei Yang , Yongman Choi , Wentao Qin , Haiyan Chen , Kevin Blinn , mingfei Liu , Ping Liu , Jianming Bai , 3 1 Trevor A. Tyson meilin Liu The existing ni-yttria-stabilized zirconia anodes in solid oxide fuel cells (soFCs) perform poorly in carbon-containing fuels because of coking and deactivation at desired operating temperatures. Here we report a new anode with nanostructured barium oxide/nickel (Bao/ ni) interfaces for low-cost soFCs, demonstrating high power density and stability in C H , Co and gasified carbon fuels at 750 °C. synchrotron-based X-ray analyses and 3 8 microscopy reveal that nanosized Bao islands grow on the ni surface, creating numerous nanostructured Bao/ ni interfaces that readily adsorb water and facilitate water-mediated carbon removal reactions. Density functional theory calculations predict that the dissociated oH from H o on Bao reacts with C on ni near the Bao/ ni interface to produce Co and H 2 species, which are then electrochemically oxidized at the triple-phase boundaries of the anode. This anode offers potential for ushering in a new generation of soFCs for efficient, low-emission conversion of readily available fuels to electricity. 1 School of Materials Science and Engineering, Center for Innovative Fuel Cell and Battery Technologies, Georgia Institute of Technology, 771 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Geo