A highly active and carbon-tolerant anode decorated with in situ grown cobalt nano-catalyst for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

The development of high-catalytic-activity anode materials with carbon tolerance is an important research undertaking for the successful application of intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). Herein, a novel anode material capable of in-situ exsolution of nanoparticles, Sr_1.95Fe_1.4Co_0.1Mo_0.5O_6-δ (SFCoM), is designed and prepared from perovskite by a strategy combining A-site defect regulation and B-site doping. The electrocatalytic activity is greatly enhanced by the in-situ exsolved Co nanoparticle. The maximum power densities of a single cell with Co@SFCoM as the anode are 1.01 and 0.79 W cm⁻² when H₂ and C₃H₈, respectively, are used as the fuel at 750 °C. In addition, the Co@SFCoM anode exhibits excellent carbon-deposition resistance due to the synergistic effect of the Co nanoparticles and perovskite backbone. When C₃H₈ is used as the fuel, the anode material long-term operational stability over 200 h without performance degradation. Thus, our methodology represents a promising material design strategy for developing high-performance IT-SOFC anodes.