@article{Chen2026, 
author = {Yongjian Chen and Ciyuan Deng and Wanying Luo and Hongming Ye and Rui Yang and Manish Singh and Te-Wei Chiu and Liangdong Fan},
title = {Concurrent surface and bulk modification of ceria-based cathodic catalyst for CO2 reduction in solid oxide electrolysis cell under strong polarization conditions},
year = {2026},
journal = {Journal of Advanced Ceramics},
volume = {15},
number = {1},
pages = {9221219},
keywords = {solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs), CO2 reduction, self-assembly, strong polarization conditions, ceria (CeO2)},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.26599/JAC.2025.9221219},
doi = {10.26599/JAC.2025.9221219},
abstract = {High-temperature solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) offer high energy efficiency and environmental compatibility for CO2 conversion but currently face the critical challenges of phase instability and coke formation, especially under the strong polarization conditions. In this study, redox phase-stable CeO2 cathode materials were modified by co-doping with Mn and Ni, enabling the in situ formation of self-assembled and strongly coupled metal Ni/ceria heterostructures and the modification of bulk properties by increasing redox Ce3+ active site numbers, Ni exsolution, oxygen defect concentrations, and electrical properties, which consequently effectively enhanced surface reaction kinetics and electrode series conductivity. The optimized Mn–Ni codoped ceria (CMN) exhibited stable electrochemical performance for nearly 140 h at 750 °C with minimal degradation under mild electrolysis conditions. Under strong polarization (2.0 V) condition, SOECs based on the CMN electrode delivered an impressive current density of 3.05 A∙cm−2 at 800 °C, accompanied by reliable operational stability over the state-of-the-art Ni-based cermet and widely investigated perovskite oxide cathode catalysts. These findings underscore the synergistic benefits of transition metal codoping and in situ heterostructure engineering in enabling high-performance, carbon-tolerant ceria-based electrodes for SOEC operation under both moderate and harsh operating conditions, advancing practical application.}
}