中低温固体氧化物燃料电池阴极材料研究进展

Progress of cathode materials for intermediate and low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

固体氧化物燃料电池(SOFC)是将燃料的化学能直接转换为电能的固态发电装置。因其能量转换效率高、燃料适应性强、环境友好等优点而引起极大关注。传统的SOFC运行温度较高(800~1000℃),长期在高温下工作会导致电池材料性能衰减、连接体和密封剂的可用材料受限、成本高昂等诸多不足。因此,SOFC的中低温化成为其广泛应用的关键。但是,工作温度的降低会导致电解质的欧姆损耗和电极的极化损耗急剧增大,其中前者可通过减薄电解质的方法解决,故在中低温下,SOFC损耗的主要来源是阴极的极化损耗。因此,如何提高阴极材料在中低温条件下的性能是目前亟待解决的问题。综述了近年来SOFC阴极材料的研究进展,并总结了目前这些材料在中低温运行中存在的问题和未来的发展方向。

Solid oxide fuel cells(SOFCs)are solid-state power generation devices that convert the chemical energy of fuel directly into electrical energy.It attracts a lot of attention due to its high energy conversion rate,various choices of fuels and environmentally friendly features.The operating temperatures of traditional SOFCs are as high as 800-1000℃,which causes problems such as the attenuation of the cell s performance after long-term work,limited available materials of interconnectors and sealants and high cost,etc.hindering its further applications.However,decreasing the operation temperature of SOFCs to an intermediate range is a key to its wide applications.With the decrease of the operating temperature,the ohmic loss of the electrolyte and the polarization loss of the electrode increase sharply.The former problem can be solved by decreasing the electrolyte thickness,thus the loss mainly comes from the polarization loss of the cathode.Therefore,it is urgent to develop cathode materials with high performance suitable for an intermediate range of temperatures.This paper reviews the recent progress of cathode materials in SOFCs and summarizes the existing problems when using these materials and their future developments.