# Solid oxide cells: one ceramic cell, run as a fuel cell or an electrolyzer

> A cut through a solid oxide cell from edge to edge: porous perovskite oxygen electrode, dense yttria-stabilized zirconia electrolyte and Ni–YSZ fuel electrode. On the left the cell runs as a fuel cell, oxide ions moving down to burn hydrogen into water and electricity; on the right the same cell runs backwards as an electrolyzer, splitting steam into hydrogen. Oxygen vacancies made by yttrium doping let the oxide ions hop through the zirconia at 700–1000 °C.

- Page: https://www.labcanvas.com/templates/graphical-abstracts/solid-oxide-cells-ceramic-cell-run-as-fuel-cell-or-electrolyzer
- Open in the LabCanvas editor (LabCanvas account): https://www.labcanvas.com/editor.html?template=solid-oxide-cells-fuel-cell-and-electrolysis
- Updated: 2026-10-14
- Category: Graphical abstracts
- Method: Graphical abstract
- Starting materials: Steam (and CO₂) with electricity, or hydrogen with air
- Product: Hydrogen or syngas from electrolysis; electricity and water from the fuel cell
- Key result: YSZ at 700–1000 °C; SOECs above 600 °C with 85–100% efficiency (Machado et al. 2024); 8 mol% Y₂O₃ cubic YSZ (Lee et al. 2022)
- Figure: 1920 × 1080 px, 588 editable layers (2 generated objects with settings)

## Steps

1. **Oxygen electrode**: A porous perovskite (LSM, LSCF): in fuel-cell mode O₂ takes electrons and becomes O²⁻; in electrolysis mode O²⁻ gives them up and leaves as O₂ (Machado et al. 2024)
2. **YSZ electrolyte**: Y³⁺ on Zr⁴⁺ sites stabilizes cubic zirconia and creates oxygen vacancies that carry oxide ions (Lee et al. 2022); YSZ is the most used electrolyte, at 700–1000 °C (Machado et al. 2024)
3. **Fuel electrode**: A porous Ni–YSZ cermet: nickel conducts electrons and catalyses the reaction, YSZ conducts oxide ions (Machado et al. 2024; Gohar et al. 2024)
4. **Fuel cell (SOFC)**: Oxide ions move to the fuel electrode and oxidize hydrogen to water, giving electricity (Machado et al. 2024)
5. **Electrolyzer (SOEC)**: The same materials run backwards: steam (and CO₂) is split at the fuel electrode and O₂ leaves at the oxygen electrode; above 600 °C, 85–100% efficient (Machado et al. 2024), with heat integration into methanol, synthetic fuel or ammonia synthesis (Hauch et al. 2020)

## Uses

- Graphical abstracts on solid oxide fuel and electrolysis cells
- Talks on high-temperature electrolysis and reversible cells
- Teaching oxide-ion conduction in YSZ

## References

1. Machado et al., “Syngas enhancement for Fischer-Tropsch integration via solid oxide electrolyzer cell co-electrolysis with or without methane”, iScience 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.111014 (review)
2. Lee et al., “Destabilization and ion conductivity of yttria-stabilized zirconia for solid oxide electrolyte by thermal aging”, Materials 2022. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15196947 (primary)
3. Hauch et al., “Recent advances in solid oxide cell technology for electrolysis”, Science 2020. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba6118 (review)
4. Gohar et al., “Navigating the future of solid oxide fuel cell: comprehensive insights into fuel electrode related degradation mechanisms and mitigation strategies”, Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cis.2024.103241 (review)

Credit: Drawn by LabCanvas after Machado et al., iScience 2024 (doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.111014); Lee et al., Materials 2022 (doi:10.3390/ma15196947); Hauch et al., Science 2020 (doi:10.1126/science.aba6118) and Gohar et al., Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 2024 (doi:10.1016/j.cis.2024.103241).

## Questions

**What does the “Solid oxide cells: one ceramic cell, run as a fuel cell or an electrolyzer” template show?** A cut through a solid oxide cell from edge to edge: porous perovskite oxygen electrode, dense yttria-stabilized zirconia electrolyte and Ni–YSZ fuel electrode. On the left the cell runs as a fuel cell, oxide ions moving down to burn hydrogen into water and electricity; on the right the same cell runs backwards as an electrolyzer, splitting steam into hydrogen. Oxygen vacancies made by yttrium doping let the oxide ions hop through the zirconia at 700–1000 °C.

**What are the steps shown in “Solid oxide cells: one ceramic cell, run as a fuel cell or an electrolyzer”?** 1. Oxygen electrode: A porous perovskite (LSM, LSCF): in fuel-cell mode O₂ takes electrons and becomes O²⁻; in electrolysis mode O²⁻ gives them up and leaves as O₂ (Machado et al. 2024). 2. YSZ electrolyte: Y³⁺ on Zr⁴⁺ sites stabilizes cubic zirconia and creates oxygen vacancies that carry oxide ions (Lee et al. 2022); YSZ is the most used electrolyte, at 700–1000 °C (Machado et al. 2024). 3. Fuel electrode: A porous Ni–YSZ cermet: nickel conducts electrons and catalyses the reaction, YSZ conducts oxide ions (Machado et al. 2024; Gohar et al. 2024). 4. Fuel cell (SOFC): Oxide ions move to the fuel electrode and oxidize hydrogen to water, giving electricity (Machado et al. 2024). 5. Electrolyzer (SOEC): The same materials run backwards: steam (and CO₂) is split at the fuel electrode and O₂ leaves at the oxygen electrode; above 600 °C, 85–100% efficient (Machado et al. 2024), with heat integration into methanol, synthetic fuel or ammonia synthesis (Hauch et al. 2020).

**What are the starting materials and the product?** Starting materials: Steam (and CO₂) with electricity, or hydrogen with air. Product: Hydrogen or syngas from electrolysis; electricity and water from the fuel cell.

**Which papers is “Solid oxide cells: one ceramic cell, run as a fuel cell or an electrolyzer” based on?** Machado et al., “Syngas enhancement for Fischer-Tropsch integration via solid oxide electrolyzer cell co-electrolysis with or without methane”, iScience 2024 (doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.111014); Lee et al., “Destabilization and ion conductivity of yttria-stabilized zirconia for solid oxide electrolyte by thermal aging”, Materials 2022 (doi:10.3390/ma15196947); Hauch et al., “Recent advances in solid oxide cell technology for electrolysis”, Science 2020 (doi:10.1126/science.aba6118); Gohar et al., “Navigating the future of solid oxide fuel cell: comprehensive insights into fuel electrode related degradation mechanisms and mitigation strategies”, Adv. Colloid Interface Sci. 2024 (doi:10.1016/j.cis.2024.103241).

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