Enhancing durability of solid oxide cells for hydrogen production from seawater by designing nano-structured Sm0.5Sr0.5Co3-δ infiltrated air electrodes

In this work, the nano-structured Sm0.5Sr0.5CoO3-δ (SSC) was infiltrated into La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ-Gd0.1Ce0.9O2-δ (LSCF-GDC) electrode of a large-area flat-tube solid oxide cell for hydrogen production. The electrolysis current density under 76% H2O-24% H2 increased only approximately 3% at about the thermal neutral voltage (1.29 V) and 750 °C, but the electrolysis durability with 76% H2O-24% H2 and 500 mA cm−2 improved significantly by more than 90%, with the degradation rate being approximately 1/10th of that of the non-infiltrated cell. This work indicates that SSC infiltration of the air electrode could suppress Sr segregation in LSCF, thus greatly enhancing the cell durability. The study provides a reference for large-scale hydrogen production of high durability SOECs by designing nanostructured electrodes via infiltration.