Synthesis of mesoporous nanocomposites for their application in solid oxide electrolysers cells: microstructural and electrochemical characterization

Abstract

Fabrication routes for new SOEC mesoporous nanocomposite materials as electrodes are presented in this paper. NiO–CGO and SDC–SSC are described as possible new materials and their synthesis and the cell fabrication are discussed. The obtained materials are microstructurally characterised by SEM, TEM and XRD, where the mesoporous structures are observed and analysed. The obtained samples are electrochemically analysed by I–V polarisation curves and EIS analysis, showing a maximum current density of 330 mA cm⁻² at 1.7 V. A degradation of the cell performance is evidenced after a potentiostatic test at 1.4 V after more than 40 hours. Oxygen electrode delaminating is detected, which is most probably the main cause of ageing. Even taking into account the lack of durability of the fabricated cells, the mesoporous electrodes do not seem to be altered, opening the possibility for further studies devoted to this high stability material for SOEC electrodes.