Investigation the Ni0·9Cu0·1TiO3-δ reforming layer for direct ethanol solid oxide fuel cells

When the solid oxide fuel cell uses ethanol as fuel, it is highly prone to cause carbon deposition and cell failure in the traditional Ni-based ceramic anode. Herein, Ni0·9Cu0·1TiO3-δ catalytic reforming layer is coated on the surface of the traditional Ni-based anode to address this issue. It has been shown that the reforming layer of Ni0·9Cu0·1TiO3-δ decomposes into Ni–Cu alloy and TiO2 under reducing atmosphere, which significantly improves the coking resistance performance of the anode. Cells with Ni0·9Cu0·1TiO3-δ layer have excellent electrocatalytic performance, and the maximum power density can reach 867 mW cm−2 at 800 °C using ethanol as fuel. Moreover, it doesn’t show significant degradation in the 50h stability test, proving that the Ni0·9Cu0·1TiO3-δ reforming layer has good coking resistance performance and electrocatalytic activity when used in direct ethanol solid oxide fuel cells.