LiCoO_2-COATED NiO CATHODE FOR MCFC

摘要

Layers of LiCoO_2 were formed on the internal surface of a porous NiO cathode to reduce the rate of NiO dissolution into the molten carbonate. Either a sol-impregnation or a solution-impregnation technique was applied to deposit LiCoO_2 precursors on the cathode. In-situ treatment of the cathode coated with precursors above 500℃ resulted in the formation of LiCoO_2 layer on the cathode. A number of bench-scale single cells were fabricated with LiCoO_2-coated NiO cathodes and the cell performance was examined for 1,000 hours. With increasing the LiCoO_2 content in the cathode up to 8 mol%, the initial performance of the cell decreased, but the cell performance was gradually improved during the cell test. The amount Ni precipitated in the matrix was significantly reduced by LiCoO_2 coating. LiCoO_2 coating by the solution-impregnation technique seemed to be more effective in reducing the amount of Ni precipitation. The results obtained in this study strongly suggest that LiCoO_2 layers formed on the internal surface of the porous NiO cathode effectively suppress the rate of NiO dissolution for 1,000 hours.