NO decomposition by an electrochemical cell with mixed oxide working electrode

A new family of electrochemical cells for decomposition of NO gas in the pr esence of excess oxygen were designed and investigated. It was shown that c overing of the Pt cathode by a mixture of oxygen ionic conductor (YSZ) and electronic conductor (NiO) leads to enhancement of the properties of the el ectrochemical cell for nitrogen monoxide decomposition. The mechanism of th e process of NO decomposition was proposed and the theoretical value of the current efficiency was calculated. A good numerical correlation between th e calculated and measured characteristics of the electrochemical cell were observed. For the first time an electrochemical cell for NO decomposition w ith a value of current efficiency exactly equal to the theoretical value ha s been designed. The correlation between the microstructure of the working electrode and conversion rate of NO gas was studied. The phenomenon of self -organizing of the microstructure, of the NiO-YSZ working electrode during the process of cell operation was observed and investigated. It was shown t hat the specific microstructure of the NiO-YSZ mixed oxide enhanced the pro perties of the electrochemical cell for NO decomposition and increased the value of the current efficiency. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.