Endurance test on a single cell of a novel cathode material for MCFC

The molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) is expected to be an efficient device for the conversion of chemical energy in the near future. However, one of the major limits to the lifetime is the dissolution of the nickel oxide cathode in the electrolyte. This problem can be overcome by the addition of new compounds to the nickel oxide. In this way, the performance and the endurance of a new Ni–Ce cathode for MCFC has been tested and the results compared to a commercial nickel cathode. The polarisation curves were measured in order to check the degradation of the cell performance with time. The results showed a better performance with the novel cathode material (136 mW/cm2 at 200 mA/cm2 during 2100 h) than the commercial one (the voltage decreased from 120 to 108 mW/cm2 at 150 mA/cm2 in 1000 h). The better performance of Ni–Ce cathode with respect to the Ni one can be attributed to the good effect of cerium in the cathode. The change in the nickel crystalline structure reduces the dissolution of nickel in the electrolyte and implies a greater endurance of the cell. The current–voltage curves were measured and showed the same trend for both cells. Postmortem analyses were done in order to characterise the cells. As a conclusion, the addition of cerium can be beneficial to overcome the dissolution of the nickel cathode in the electrolyte, which is considered one of the major limits to the lifetime of a MCFC.