Enhanced Anodes for Pollution-Free Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Fuel cells have emerged as a promising technology in the modern era for the efficient conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy, offering high performance and scalability for sustainable power generation. Among various types, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) stand out as one of the most promising candidates for green energy applications due to their all-ceramic composition and high operating temperatures in the range of 500–1000°C. In this study, copper-based cermet (Cu–CGO) was investigated as a potential anode material for SOFCs. To enhance the electrical conductivity, copper (Cu) was introduced as a dopant. Conventional synthesis methods for Cu–CGO anode materials often present certain limitations; however, the urea-combustion method was found to offer several advantages over the glycine-combustion approach. The X-ray diffraction analysis of the synthesized samples confirmed that the experimental diffraction peaks closely matched the standard JCPDS data corresponding to the Cux [Ce₀. ₉Gd₀. ₁] ₁₋ₓO₂–δ phase. All observed reflections were indexed to a tetragonal unit cell, indicating the formation of a homogeneous single-phase compound. The absence of additional peaks suggested that no intermediate phases were formed, confirming the phase purity of the synthesized material. Furthermore, the electrical conductivity of Cux [Ce₀. ₉Gd₀. ₁] ₁₋ₓO₂–δ increased with higher copper content, which correlated with a decrease in activation energy. However, the hardness of the anode material decreased slightly with increasing Cu concentration, attributed to the rise in porosity within the crystal structure. Overall, these findings demonstrate that Cu-doped CGO synthesized via the urea-combustion route exhibits favorable structural and electrical properties suitable for use as an efficient SOFC anode material.