Modified nickel oxides as cathode materials for MCFC

The preparation and subsequent oxidation of nickel cathodes modified by impregnation with cerium were evaluated by surface and bulk analysis. The cerium impregnated cathodes showed the same pore size distribution curve types and the same morphology as the reference nickel cathode. The measured nickel oxide dissolution rate in the molten carbonate mixture indicated that a minimum corrosion was evident for cathodes with 0.3–1 wt.% cerium oxide content. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed in the cathode characterization. As can be seen by SEM, the corrosion treatments produce marked modifications on the sample surfaces that appear more prominent for the cerium-free sample. The results also show that the lithiation process is a very significant factor that can improve the efficiency of the cell, but needs to be controlled because it can also produce very damaging effects such as the modification of the cathode volume by the formation on new compounds.