Anodes & Cathodes for Col SOEC & SOFC

The fuel and air electrodes set the temperature window, area-specific resistance, and degradation rate of every solid-oxide stack — pick them around your electrolyte, operating temperature, and whether the cell will run as SOFC, SOEC, or reversibly. This collection covers the catalysts and ceramic electrode materials used on both sides of the membrane in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC), plus the noble-metal and earth-abundant catalysts used on the related PEM, AEM, and alkaline platforms found in adjacent electrolyzer and fuel cell work.

Materials are grouped by where they sit in the cell and which chemistry the cell uses.

SOEC and SOFC fuel-side (Ni-cermet anode for SOFC / cathode for SOEC)

• NiO/8YSZ electrode-support pellets — porous, thick disks that provide mechanical support for anode-supported cells; reduce in situ to Ni/YSZ during the first H2 exposure.
• NiO electrode slurries — for screen-printing or infiltrating the hydrogen-side functional layer or contact layer.
• YSZ powder — yttria-stabilized zirconia, the workhorse oxide-ion electrolyte; also used as the ceramic phase in NiO/YSZ composite fuel electrodes.

SOEC and SOFC air-side (perovskite oxygen electrodes)

• LSC powder — La1-xSrxCoO3-delta, a strontium-doped cobaltite perovskite used as a high-conductivity contact / current-collection layer over an LSCF or LSC-GDC functional layer.

For the matching electrolyte ceramics (8YSZ, GDC, ScSZ, LSGM) and the LSCF / LSM / BSCF functional powders, see electrolytes and the broader SOEC and SOFC section.

PEM electrolyzer and PEMFC catalysts (acidic)

• Iridium black and IrOx-coated titanium felts — OER anodes that survive low pH and high anodic potential; the standard PEM-electrolyzer anode.
• Amorphous RuOx-coated electrodes — lowest acidic OER overpotential, used where activity is prioritized over long-term stability.
• Pt/C and Pt-Pd/C — HER and ORR catalysts for PEM fuel cells; the Pt-Pd alloy is favored where CO tolerance and durability matter.

Alkaline and AEM catalysts (non-precious and Ru-based)

• Ni/C and CoFeOx — earth-abundant catalysts for alkaline HER and OER; CoFeOx is a typical AEM-electrolyzer anode candidate.
• Ru/C — alkaline HOR / HER catalyst, often paired with Pt for methanol-tolerant anodes.

If you are building anode-supported SOFC or SOEC cells, start with the NiO/8YSZ supports and NiO slurries, then add an LSCF or LSC air-side layer. If you are working on PEM water electrolysis, begin with the IrOx or RuOx anodes and a Pt/C cathode; for alkaline and AEM systems, start with Ni/C, Ru/C, and CoFeOx.