Investigation of Ce 0.9 Sr 0.1 Cr 0.5 Co 0.5 O 3−δ as the anode material for solid oxide fuel cells fueled with H 2 S

Ce 0.9 Sr 0.1 Cr 0.5 Co 0.5 O 3−δ (CSCrCo) as an anode catalyst was studied in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), where hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) was used as fuel. The conductivities were evaluated with a four-probe DC technique in 3 % H 2 -N 2 and 5 % H 2 S-N 2 at 570–800 °C, respectively. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that CSCrCo powders are fluorite structure which is similar to that of CeO 2 parent (JCPDS card no. 34-0394). Meanwhile, CSCrCo anode material has good chemical compatibility with electrolyte (Ce 0.8 Sm 0.2 O 1.9 (SDC)) in N 2 . Through the analysis of XRD and Fourier transform infrared patterns, no other new phase is detected after treatment in 5 % H 2 S-N 2 at 800 °C for 5 h, which indicate that the material has a good sulfur tolerance. H 2 temperature-programmed reduction and Tafel curves indicate that the temperature of the best catalytic activity is 600 °C. The electrochemical properties of the cell comprising CSCrCo-SDC/SDC/Ag are measured in 5 % H 2 S-N 2 at low temperatures (500 and 600 °C). The maximal open circuit voltage is 1.04 V, the maximal power density is 12.55 mW cm −2 , and the maximal current density is 40 mA cm −2 at 500 °C. While at 600 °C, the corresponding values are 0.95 V, 14.21 mW cm −2 , and 90.01 mA cm −2 , respectively. After SOFC operating in 5 % H 2 S, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is used to compare the fresh sample with the H 2 S-treated one.