Electrostatic Force Microscopic Characterization of Early Stage Carbon Deposition on Nickel Anodes in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Carbon deposition on nickel anodes degrades the performance of solid oxide fuel cells that utilize hydrocarbon fuels. Nickel anodes with BaO nanoclusters deposited on the surface exhibit improved performance by delaying carbon deposition (i.e., coking). The goal of this research was to visualize ear...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nano letters 2015-09, Vol.15 (9), p.6047-6050
Main Authors: Park, Hyungmin, Li, Xiaxi, Lai, Samson Y, Chen, Dongchang, Blinn, Kevin S, Liu, Mingfei, Choi, Sinho, Liu, Meilin, Park, Soojin, Bottomley, Lawrence A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
barium oxide
Carbon
Coking
Deposition
Electrostatic force microscopy (EFM)
Electrostatics
ENERGY STORAGE
Exposure
Nanostructure
Nickel
Solid oxide fuel cells
solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs)
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Summary:Carbon deposition on nickel anodes degrades the performance of solid oxide fuel cells that utilize hydrocarbon fuels. Nickel anodes with BaO nanoclusters deposited on the surface exhibit improved performance by delaying carbon deposition (i.e., coking). The goal of this research was to visualize early stage deposition of carbon on nickel surface and to identify the role BaO nanoclusters play in coking resistance. Electrostatic force microscopy was employed to spatially map carbon deposition on nickel foils patterned with BaO nanoclusters. Image analysis reveals that upon propane exposure initial carbon deposition occurs on the Ni surface at a distance from the BaO features. With continued exposure, carbon deposits penetrate into the BaO-modified regions. After extended exposure, carbon accumulates on and covers BaO. The morphology and spatial distribution of deposited carbon was found to be sensitive to experimental conditions.
ISSN:1530-6984
1530-6992
DOI:10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b02237