Doped Samarium Ferrite Perovskites as Carbon and Sulfur Resistant Anodes for Low Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Perovskite type oxides (ABO₃) have opened a new door to solve operational issues of SOFC anodes. One of the great advantages of these materials is that their properties can be easily tailored according to the desired applications, by introducing substitutions at A and B- sites. Doping Ce, Co and Ni in SmFeO₃ solves not only the reduction instability issue of these perovskites, but also makes these materials suitable as anodes. The resistance to coke formation is shown for three prime candidates of this perovskite family (Sm_0.95Ce_0.05FeO_3-δ, Sm_0.95Ce_0.05Fe_0.97Co_0.03O_3-δ, and Sm_0.95Ce_0.05Fe_0.97Ni_0.03O_3-δ). These anodes show stable performance in pure methane fuel in the temperature range of 450 to 650°C. In addition, performance of these anodes in the presence of 5% H₂S is higher than for pure H₂.