Sulphur tolerant shift reaction catalysts for nickel-based SOFC anode

In this paper, we will present that various metals mixed with ceria are good sulphur tolerant shift reaction catalysts. Without adding the shift catalyst to Ni-based anode, although stable fuel cell performance is achieved in carbon monoxide fuels, fuel cell experiences catastrophic degradation when adding 1 ppm hydrogen sulphide. While the nickel-based anode will still be poisoned by I ppm hydrogen sulphide in carbon monoxide fuels, the addition of catalysts to the anode side of the cell can provide stable performance after the adsorption-desorption equilibrium of sulphur on nickel is established. The authors believe that this combination of nickel-based anode and sulphur-tolerant shift catalyst could provide higher cell efficiency than using a copper-ceria anode alone for certain fuel mixtures leading to advantages for certain SOFC applications. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.