A finger-like anode with infiltrated Ni0.1Ce0.9O2-δ catalyst using new phase inversion combined tape-casting technology for optimized dry reforming of methane

The direct use of synthesis gas produced by the dry reforming of methane is strongly limited by the catalyst deactivation and performance degradation owing to the carbon deposition in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). In this work, we fabricated a finger-like porous NiO-8%mol doped ZrO2 (YSZ) by a new phase-inversion combined tape casting technique as anode substrate, impregnated with Ni0.1Ce0.9O2-δ as catalyst. After the anode infiltrated Ni0.1Ce0.9O2-δ catalyst for the dry reforming of methane under the open circuit voltage, the conversion rates of CH4 and CO2 are increased from 49.65% and 55.2% to 69.3% and 67.2% at 750 °C, respectively. Strikingly, the button cells by the direct utilization of CH4–CO2 (1:1) fuels deliver high electrochemical performance as well as high stability of fuel conversion rates, where the peak power density is increased from 457 mW/cm2 to 850 mW/cm2 at 800 °C and the corresponding polarization resistance is reduced from 0.436 Ωcm2 to 0.286 Ωcm2, respectively. The great improvement of electrochemical performance is due to the dissolved nanoparticles and reactive oxygen species of the anode infiltrated Ni0.1Ce0.9O2-δ catalyst. And the open finger-like pore microstructure of the anode accelerates the methane transport. This strategy provides a promising solution for direct utilization of dry reforming of methane.