LAUSR

Abstract Molybdenum doped strontium ferrite, Sr2Fe1.5O0.5O6 (SFM), is a promising perovskite-type hydrogen electrode material in solid oxide cells (SOCs), but usually suffers from insufficient electro-catalytic activity. Herein, Ni nanoparticles with high electro-catalytic properties have been infiltrated into SFM scaffold to form Ni-SFM electrode with high electro-catalytic activity for power generation and CO2 electro-reduction. Pre-sintering temperature and Ni loading of Ni-SFM electrodes have been systematically investigated to minimize the electrode polarization resistance (Rp). Rps of bare SFM electrode vary significantly with pre-sintering temperature, and the lowest Rp value of 1.04Ωcm2 is obtained for bare SFM electrode pre-fired at 1050 °C. Moreover, a significantly reduced Rp value of 0.32Ωcm2 is achieved at 800 °C after Ni infiltration. Additionally, three-dimensional microstructure of Ni-SFM electrode is simulated numerically, and geometric properties including Ni/SFM/gas triple-phase-boundaries (TPBs) length, Ni/SFM interfacial area, and Ni surface area are calculated under various Ni loadings to correlate electrode microstructure with electrode performance, revealing that the electrode performance are strongly affected not only by the TPBs but also the interface area. Enhanced electrochemical performance indicate that Ni-SFM electrode is a promising high-performance hydrogen electrode for SOCs application.