Strontium Manganese Oxide Getter for Capturing Airborne Cr and S Contaminants in High-Temperature Electrochemical Systems

Traces (ppm to ppb level) of airborne contaminants such as CrO2(OH)2 and SO2 irreversibly degrade the electrochemical activity of air electrodes in high-temperature electrochemical devices such as solid oxide fuel cells by retarding oxygen reduction reactions. The use of getter has been proposed as a cost-effective strategy to mitigate the electrode poisoning. However, owing to the harsh operating conditions (i.e., exposure to heat and moisture), the long-term durability of getter materials remains a considerable challenge. In this study, we report our findings on strontium manganese oxide (SMO) as a robust getter material for cocapture of airborne Cr and S contaminants. The SMO getter with a 3D honeycomb architecture, fabricated via slurry dip-coating, successfully maintains the electrochemical activity of solid oxide cells under the flow of gaseous Cr and S species, validating the getter’s capability of capturing traces of Cr and S contaminants. Investigations found that both Sr and Mn cations contribute to the absorption reaction and that the reaction processes are accompanied by morphological elongation in the form of SrSO4 nanorods and SrCrO4 whiskers, which favors continued absorption and reaction of incoming S and Cr contaminants. The SMO getter also displays robust stability at high temperatures and in humid environments without phase transformation and hydrolysis. These results demonstrate the feasibility of the use of SMO getter under severe operating conditions representative of high-temperature electrochemical systems.