Cathode performance and oxygen-ion transport mechanism of copper oxide for solid-oxide fuel cells

Various copper oxide cathode materials were studied over a YSZ tube at 800 degreesC and an oxygen partial pressure of 0.21 atm. It was found that the cathode performance of CuO may be improved by doping Ag metal into it. However, an optimal doping content exists and is around 50 mol% Ag. It was also found that copper oxide itself possess enough oxygen vacancies needed for the role of a mixed conductor. The activation energy for the lattice-oxygen reduction and migration has been calculated to be 55.4 kJ/mol. By the use of electrochemical measurements over Ag-YSZ/CuO electrodes, models for the two-layer electrode have been proposed and justified for oxygen-ion transport mechanisms at low and high overpotentials, respectively; thus, the roles of CuO on the cathode behavior of the electron and oxygen-ion conductivities were well identified.