Development of Stabilized NiO Cathodes for Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell

Abstract

The stabilized NiO cathodes were fabricated by Li‐Co‐O coated Ni powder which was synthesized by hydrothermal treatment in 4–6MLiOH∙H2O. The morphology of Li‐Co‐O coating was characterized by spectroscopic techniques to investigate the optimal synthesis conditions such as temperature, reaction time, and reactant molarity. Li‐Co‐O coating was consisted of LiCoO2, Co(OH)2, and CoOOH, and the amount of LiCoO2 was increased with increasing time and molarity of LiOH∙H2O. The mechanical properties of the stabilized NiO cathodes were also measured to evaluate the stability in molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) applications. The bending strength of the stabilized cathode was significantly improved compared to the typical NiO cathode. The pores of the stabilized cathode showed typical bimodal distribution in size due to the micropores developed by coated materials, and the overall porosity was higher than 75% under optimal synthesis conditions, which is also promising for MCFC applications.