In this work, co-generation of C2+ hydrocarbons
and
electricity in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) was realized using methane
as fuel. The SOFCs were prepared with Li-La0.8Sr0.2Ga0.8Mg0.2O3−δ (LSGM)/Lr0.7Sr0.3FeO3 (LSF) as the composite anode
and LSGM and (La0.6Sr0.4)0.95Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ (LSCF)/Sm0.2Ce0.8O2−δ (SDC) as the
electrolyte and cathode, respectively. Among the anode materials,
Li-LSGM has higher C2+ product selectivity. It can be seen
from the XPS data that the doping of Li introduces a strong alkaline
active center Li+O–, changes the lattice
and electronic structure, and increases the surface absorption of
oxygen species, which is more conducive to the improvement of the
selectivity of C2+ products. LSF has strong electron-conducting
ability and high catalytic activity for methane. After mixing with
Li-LSGM, XPS data show that more oxygen vacancies are generated, which
is beneficial to the electrochemical reaction of the anode and effectively
reduces carbon deposition. The maximum power density of the composite
anode can reach 188.15 mW/cm–2 with H2 as the fuel at 850 °C, and a C2+ product selectivity
of 57.48% is achieved with CH4 as the fuel at 800 °C
and the current density is 40 mA/cm–2. In addition,
the change of C2+ product selectivity with current density
and temperature during cell operation was further investigated, providing
enlightenment on how to adjust the output ratio of chemicals and electricity.