Thermal Cycling Stability of NiO/YSZ Anode-Supported SOFC Button Cells: An Experimental Study

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology is an electrochemical power generation apparatus that enables the direct conversion of chemical fuel energy into electrical energy. To address the issue of thermal cycling stability, which is critical for commercialization, a thermal cycling stability test was performed on a NiO/YSZ anode-supported SOFC button cell. This study investigates the influence of key thermal cycling parameters (heating/cooling rate and number of thermal cycles) on the cell’s electrochemical performance and microstructure evolution. The main findings are as follows: thermal cycling adversely affects the electrochemical performance of the SOFC, with the degree of degradation directly correlated to both the number of cycles and the heating/cooling rate. After 20 thermal cycles at a rate of 5 °C/min, the peak power density decreased by 20.57%. Furthermore, thermal cycling leads to an increase in both ohmic and activation polarization, with the performance degradation predominantly governed by the rise in ohmic polarization. It was demonstrated that the number of thermal cycles has a more significant impact on ohmic losses than the heating/cooling rate. This work offers valuable insight into the degradation mechanisms induced by thermal cycling in SOFC button cells.