A review of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell cathode materials with respect to their resistance to the effects of chromium poisoning

TY - JOUR

T1 - A review of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell cathode materials with respect to their resistance to the effects of chromium poisoning

AU - Harrison, Christopher

AU - Slater, Peter

AU - Steinberger-Wilckens, Robert

PY - 2020/10/15

Y1 - 2020/10/15

N2 - Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) cathode materials have been shown to be susceptible to a ‘chromium poisoning’ phenomenon that can significantly deteriorate cell output during operation. Chromium-containing species, released from stack and system materials, migrate to the SOFC cathode where they are able to form new phases through reaction with the cathode material. Such phases have been shown to diminish the catalytic and conductive performance of the electrodes and even block the pathways through which oxygen must diffuse. To date, there has been a significant body of research afforded to this subject area. Efforts have been made towards understanding the chromium poisoning effect, whilst also considering how it may be mitigated. In this review, we discuss the effects of chromium-containing phases on both conventional and non-conventional cathode materials. This is in order to understand the most successful approaches towards developing chromium-tolerant cathode materials. The influences of environmental parameters such as temperature and humidity are also discussed. This is to explore how degradation rates may be affected by the operating conditions themselves and the extent to which the phenomenon can be mitigated by suitable control of such factors. In the most part, these environmental effects are studied in relation to the most common cathode materials, La1-xSrxCo1-yFey¬O3 and La1-xSrxMnO3, where there has been the largest body of work conducted.

AB - Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) cathode materials have been shown to be susceptible to a ‘chromium poisoning’ phenomenon that can significantly deteriorate cell output during operation. Chromium-containing species, released from stack and system materials, migrate to the SOFC cathode where they are able to form new phases through reaction with the cathode material. Such phases have been shown to diminish the catalytic and conductive performance of the electrodes and even block the pathways through which oxygen must diffuse. To date, there has been a significant body of research afforded to this subject area. Efforts have been made towards understanding the chromium poisoning effect, whilst also considering how it may be mitigated. In this review, we discuss the effects of chromium-containing phases on both conventional and non-conventional cathode materials. This is in order to understand the most successful approaches towards developing chromium-tolerant cathode materials. The influences of environmental parameters such as temperature and humidity are also discussed. This is to explore how degradation rates may be affected by the operating conditions themselves and the extent to which the phenomenon can be mitigated by suitable control of such factors. In the most part, these environmental effects are studied in relation to the most common cathode materials, La1-xSrxCo1-yFey¬O3 and La1-xSrxMnO3, where there has been the largest body of work conducted.

KW - SOFC

KW - chromium poisoning

KW - Cathode

KW - Fuel cell

KW - interconnects

U2 - 10.1016/j.ssi.2020.115410

DO - 10.1016/j.ssi.2020.115410

M3 - Article

VL - 354

JO - Solid State Ionics

JF - Solid State Ionics

SN - 0167-2738

M1 - 115410

ER -