Mo‐doped CeO<subscript>2</subscript> Synthesized by the Combustion Method for Carbon‐Air Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (CA‐SOFC) Applications.

Molybdenum(Mo)‐doped ceria (CMO) nanoparticles were synthesized by the combustion method with three different Mo compositions: 5 wt.%, 7 wt.%, and 10 wt.%. The catalytic activity of CMO for wet gasification of carbon was studied in a fluidized bed reactor, while the mechanical and electrical properties of this material were characterized using dense sintered CMO pellets. The Young's modulus was found to increase with the Mo content; the higher value measured was 289.4 GPa for CMO with 10 wt.% Mo. Measurements of Vickers microhardness demonstrated that an increase in the Mo content produces a decrease in the microhardness of the material, suggesting that Mo confers semi‐metallic characteristics to CMO. The higher fracture toughness value, determined by the Niihara equation, was 4.39 MPa m0.5 for CMO with 10 wt.% Mo. In addition, an increase in the molybdenum content produced an increase in the electrical conductivity under air and H2 atmospheres. The maximum electrical conductivities under air and H2 were found for CMO with 10 wt.% Mo at 800 °C: 1.87 × 10−3 S cm−1 and 9.37 × 10−1 S cm−1, correspondingly. Finally, CMO with 10 wt.% Mo exhibited good catalytic activity for carbon gasification, which renders it a promising material for a combined fluidized bed‐SOFC system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]