Application of a NiMo-Ce0.5Zr0.5O2-δ catalyst for solid oxide fuel cells running on gasoline

A NiMo-Ce0.5Zr0.5O2-delta (NiMo-CZ) catalyst has been developed for gasoline-fed solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). To apply the catalyst on a button-type single cell, the NiMo-CZ is deposited on top of conventional Ni-yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) anode as a catalytic internal micro-reforming layer. The NiMo-CZ layer is effective in increasing the gasoline conversion and enhancing the yields of both H-2 and CO at 750 degrees C. On the other hand, due to the high mechanical stress induced from the constrained sintering with a thicker catalyst layer, only a limited amount of catalyst (similar to 20 mg) could be applied over the conventional button-type cell, which is not beneficial for enhancing overall cell performances. To overcome this issue, a tubular single cell configuration is adopted that allowed for higher catalyst loadings. By introducing higher catalyst loadings (similar to 80 mg) in the vacant tubular channel of the single cell, the gasoline conversion, H-2 yield, and CO yield all improve while cell lifetime increases by 42% compared to the performance of the button-type cell. The results suggest the potential of the NiMo-CZ catalyst for gasoline-fed SOFCs, and it demonstrates the advantage of the tubular single cell configuration for incorporating higher catalyst loadings for internal catalytic fuel reforming.