title: Electrochemically Scavenging the Silica Impurities at the Ni-YSZ Triple Phase Boundary of Solid Oxide Cells.
abstract: Silica impurity originated from the sealing or raw materials of the solid oxide cells (SOCs) accumulating at the Ni-YSZ triple phase boundaries (TPBs) is known as one major reason for electrode passivation. Here we report nanosilica precipitates inside Ni grains instead of blocking the TPBs when operating the SOCs at |i| ≥ 1.5 A cm(-2) for electrolysis of H2O/CO2. An electrochemical scavenging mechanism was proposed to explain this unique behavior: the removal of silica proceeded through the reduction of the silica to Si under strong cathodic polarization, followed by bulk diffusion of Si into Ni and reoxidation of Si in the Ni grain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University , 395 Evansdale Drive, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505, United States.
authors.forename: Youkun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Shenzhen University , 3688 Nanhai Avenue, Nanshan District, Shenzhen, P.R. China.|Department of Energy Conversion and storage, Technical University of Denmark , DTU Risø Campus, Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde DK-4000, Denmark.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo , Sem Sælands vei 26, 0371 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Shiyang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cheng
keywords: cathodic polarization; nickel−yttria-stabilized zirconia; precipitation; silica; solid oxide cells; triple phase boundary