Optimization of Water-Based Cathode Inks for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Abstract

A new cathode ink for a solid oxide fuel cell has recently been developed (UK Patent Publication Number GB2490869). It was found to give a power density of 0.33 W/cm2 at 0.7 V at 750°C running on hydrogen. Further optimisation work has been undertaken, focusing on the dispersant: Poly(N-VinylPyrrolidone) - PVP. The effects of chain length and weight percentage of PVP have been investigated, and Poly (ethylene glycol) – PEG - was tested for comparison. PEG was found to give good performance at lower weight percentages, but had a negative impact on ink rheology at higher concentrations. Optimisation of the ink formulation increased the power at 0.7 V to 0.46 W/cm2 under identical test conditions.