Micro-tubular solid oxide fuel cell with asymmetric structure anode and La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.8Cu_0.2O _3-δ perovskite cathode

Micro-tubular solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has been fabricated with NiO-YSZ hollow fiber as anode support and La_0.6Sr_0.4Co _0.8Cu_0.2O_3-δ-Sm_0.2Ce _0.8O_1.9 (LSCCu-SDC) composite cathode. The NiO-YSZ hollow fiber anode was prepared by the immersion-induced phase inversion technique and shows a special asymmetrical structure with porous sponge-like structure in the middle and finger-like structure on the inner and outer side of the hollow fiber. A thin and dense electrolyte membrane (about 12μm) was deposited on the anode by a vacuum-assisted dip-coating process. The performance of the as-prepared hollow fiber SOFC (HF-SOFC) was tested at 600-800°C with humidified H₂ as fuel and ambient air as the oxidant. The peak power densities of 531.1, 362.5 and 214.6mWcm^-2 can be obtained at 800, 700 and 600°C, respectively. The good performance at intermediate temperature (IT) indicates promising applications as power sources for portable devices for the prepared YSZ-based micro-tubular SOFCs with LSCCu-SDC composite cathode.