Progress in Material Development for Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: A Review

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have been considered as promising candidates to tackle the need for sustainable and efficient energy conversion devices. However, the current operating temperature of SOFCs poses critical challenges relating to the costs of fabrication and materials selection. To overcome these issues, many attempts have been made by the SOFC research and manufacturing communities for lowering the operating temperature to intermediate ranges (600–800 °C) and even lower temperatures (below 600 °C). Despite the interesting success and technical advantages obtained with the low-temperature SOFC, on the other hand, the cell operation at low temperature could noticeably increase the electrolyte ohmic loss and the polarization losses of the electrode that cause a decrease in the overall cell performance and energy conversion efficiency. In addition, the electrolyte ionic conductivity exponentially decreases with a decrease in operating temperature based on the Arrhenius conduction equation for semiconductors. To address these challenges, a variety of materials and fabrication methods have been developed in the past few years which are the subject of this critical review. Therefore, this paper focuses on the recent advances in the development of new low-temperature SOFCs materials, especially low-temperature electrolytes and electrodes with improved electrochemical properties, as well as summarizing the matching current collectors and sealants for the low-temperature region. Different strategies for improving the cell efficiency, the impact of operating variables on the performance of SOFCs, and the available choice of stack designs, as well as the costing factors, operational limits, and performance prospects, have been briefly summarized in this work.