Applications of heterogeneous catalysis in the direct oxidation of hydrocarbons in a solid-oxide fuel cell

This review article provides an overview of our recent studies of the direc t oxidation of hydrocarbons in solid-oxide fuel cells. The use of a thermal ly stable, highly porous, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) matrix, which al lows for the optimization of the anode composition and catalytic properties , is described. Studies of the direct oxidation of hydrocarbons using anode s composed of mixtures of YSZ, copper, ceria and samaria-doped ceria are al so presented. The results of these studies demonstrate that copper-ceria ba sed anodes are active for the direct electrocatalytic oxidation of a wide r ange of hydrocarbons including alkanes, alkenes, and aromatics. (C) 2000 El sevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.