The solid oxide fuel cell technology offers substantial potential for clean
and efficient power generation. The high operating temperature (700-1000 d
egreesC) is beneficial for co-generation of both electricity and high-grade
heat at user sites, thus, increasing total system efficiency to above 85%.
However, the high operating temperature imposes severe restrictions on mat
erials, which can otherwise be effectively used for construction of the com
plete device. Degradation of fuel cell performance occurs over a period of
time and is related to the deterioration of material properties and interfa
cial reactions between various fuel cell components. In this paper, a short
overview on the stability of various fuel cell components in real operatin
g environments is given. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
.