Enhanced CO2 Electrolysis with the Modification of Ni–YSZ Cathodes by SDC in Microtubular Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells

Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) have the characteristics of a high efficiency, cleanliness, and environmental friendliness and have become one of the important energy conversion methods. However, the coarse agglomeration of Ni will affect the performance seriously and affect the life of the cell. In this study, we fabricated a Ni–YSZ-supported microtubule electrolysis cell and impregnated SDC nanoparticles onto the surface of Ni–YSZ electrode to change the microstructure of the cathode. At 800 °C, the addition of SDC was beneficial to improve the electrochemical reduction of CO2. Compared with the pure Ni–YSZ electrode, after adding SDC particles to the electrode, the current density increased by 2 times, the current efficiency reached 97.7%, and the CO concentration in the exhaust gas was 29.31%. SOEC had good stability after 100 h of operation, which provided a new idea to design the improvement of the electrode microstructure.