Gold/Perovskite Nanosized Composites as Potential Catalysts for Propan Reforming in SOFCs

Direct use of hydrocarbons in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is extremely attractive. Commonly, the anodic catalysts used in SOFCs are based on nickel. However, the main problem caused by the use of Ni-based electrocatalysts is their strong tendency towards carbon deposition. Therefore, the search for new anode catalysts resulted in the interest in perovskite-based materials, due to their good electrocatalytic performances and fairly good thermo-chemical properties. Moreover, amongst the metals, several noble metals showed excellent catalytic activity for hydrocarbon reforming.