Jumps in electric potential and in temperature at the electrode surfaces of the solid oxide fuel cell

The electric potential profile and the temperature profile across a formation cell have been derived for the first time, using irreversible thermodynamics for bulk and surface systems. The method was demonstrated with the solid oxide fuel cell. The expression for the cell potential reduces to the classical formula when we assume equilibrium for polarized oxygen atoms across the electrolyte. Using data from the literature, we show for some likely assumptions, how the cell potential is generated at the anode, and how the energy is dissipated throughout the cell. The thermal gradient amounts to 5 × 108 Km−1 when the current density is 104 Am−2 and the thermal resistance of the surface scales like the electrical resistance.