(406h) Improved Activity and Stability of Ni-based Anode for Direct Methanol–Fueled Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Ethanol steam reforming (ESR) is a promising route for sustainable hydrogen production. Recently, LaNiO₃ has received a lot of attention as the precursor of the catalyst in ESR reaction due to its interesting properties, such as good redox ability, accessibility and coke resistance. The major drawback of traditional LaNiO₃ is its low surface area, which limits its catalytic application. Therefore, it is highly desirable to develop an effective strategy for generating porous LaNiO₃. In recent years, three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) perovskites have been reported to show better activity for soot combustion, methane combustion and CO oxidation. In this work, high-surface-area 3DOM La_1-xCe_xNiO_3-δ (x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) (LCNO) catalysts are successfully synthesized and firstly used in ESR reaction. The 3DOM perovskite structure was examined in terms of the catalyst structure and reactivity. After the calcination at 850 ^oC, all the LCNO samples exhibit a 3DOM structure, whereas the LaNiO₃ sample shows an irregular morphology with a particle size of 200–600 nm. The incorporation of Ce has almost no effect on the morphology of the 3DOM structure. The 3DOM structure catalysts show significantly higher H₂ yields and lower C₂H₄ yield than that of LaNiO3 at 600 ^oC. In addition, the addition of Ce enhances the stability of the catalyst and effectively suppresses coking in the reaction.