Heuristic Approach to Predict the Performance Degradation of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cathode

Muhammad Zubair Khan; Muhammad Taqi Mehran; Amjad Hussain; Seung-Bok Lee; Tak-Hyoung Lim; Rak-Hyun Song

doi:10.1021/acsami.3c05156

Heuristic Approach to Predict the Performance Degradation of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cathode

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Sep 27;15(38):45354-45366. doi: 10.1021/acsami.3c05156. Epub 2023 Sep 13.

Authors

Muhammad Zubair Khan¹, Muhammad Taqi Mehran², Amjad Hussain^{3

4}, Seung-Bok Lee^{3

4}, Tak-Hyoung Lim^{3

4}, Rak-Hyun Song^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Pak-Austria Fachhochschule: Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, Mang, Haripur22621, Khyber Pakhunkhwa, Pakistan.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical and Materials Engineering (SCME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan.
³ Hydrogen Energy Research Division, Korea Institute of Energy Research, 152 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34129, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Advanced Energy and System Engineering, Korea University of Science and Technology (UST), 217 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34113, Republic of Korea.

PMID: 37702662
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c05156

Abstract

The present work aims to predict the degradation in the performance of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathode owing to cation interdiffusion between the electrolyte and cathode and surface segregation. Cation migration in the (La_0.60Sr_0.40)_0.95Co_0.20Fe_0.80O_3-x (LSCF)-Gd_0.10Ce_0.90O_1.95 (GDC) composite cathode is evaluated in relation to time up to 1000 h using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM)-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS). The resulting insulating phase formed within the GDC interlayer is quantified by means of the volume fraction using a two-dimensional (2D) image analysis technique. For the very first time, the amount of the insulating phase in the GDC interlayer is quantified, and the corresponding performance degradation of the LSCF cathode is predicted. Mathematical relationships are established for the estimation of degradation due to surface segregation of the cathode. The ohmic resistance between the cathode and the GDC interlayer/electrolyte interface and the polarization resistance of the cathode, characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), show an excellent match with the predicted results. The combined degradation analysis and modeling for the cathode lifetime prediction provide a systematic understanding of the time-dependent cation migration and segregation behavior.

Keywords: cathode degradation; cation interdiffusion; lifetime prediction; segregation; solid oxide fuel cell.