A review of anode materials development in solid oxide fuel cells

High temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) has prospect and potential to generate electricity from fossil fuels with high efficiency and very low greenhouse gas emissions as compared to traditional thermal power plants. In the last 10 years, there has been significant progress in the materials development and stack technologies in SOFC. The objective of this paper is to review the development of anode materials in SOFC from the viewpoint of materials microstructure and performance associated with the fabrication and optimization processes. Latest development and achievement in the Ni/Y2O3-ZrO2 (Ni/YSZ) cermet anodes, alternative and conducting oxide anodes and anode-supported substrate materials are presented. Challenges and research trends based on the fundamental understanding of the materials science and engineering for the anode development for the commercially viable SOFC technologies are discussed. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.