Review of solid oxide fuel cell materials: cathode, anode, and electrolyte

Abstract

There is a growing interest in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) technology among the researchers a promising power generation with high energy efficiency, inflated fuel flexibility, and low environmental impact compared to conventional power generation systems. SOFCs are devices in which the chemical energy is directly converted into electrical energy with negligible emission. SOFCs have low pollution characteristics, high efficiency (~ 60%), and possess expanded fuel selection with little environmental effects. A single cell component of SOFCs is consisting an anode, cathode and an electrolyte which are stacked layer by layer to produce higher amount of power. The dense ceramic electrolyte transporting O²⁻ ions and fills the space between the electrodes material. Redox reaction occurred at the electrodes side in the presence of fuels. The operating temperatures of SOFCs of 600–1200 °C which produced heat as a byproduct and fast electro-catalytic activity while using nonprecious metals. Many ceramic materials have been investigated for SOFCs electrolyte. Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) material was extensively used as dense electrolyte in SOFCs technology. In this review, the article presents; overview of the SOFCs devices and their related materials and mostly reviewed newly available reported.