A review on recent advances in micro-tubular solid oxide fuel cells

Micro-tubular solid oxide fuel cells (MT-SOFCs) are environment-friendly energy conversion devices with high conversion efficiency. Due to the advantages of excellent ability to fast start-up, strong tolerance to thermal cycling, high output power density and fuel diversity, MT-SOFCs are suitable for a wide range of applications, from several watts to several hundred watts, from fixed power generation to portable power. Therefore, MT-SOFCs have attracted extensive attention from researchers. This paper provides an overview of the advances on MT-SOFCs in the recent decade, including the improvement of MT-SOFCs support fabrication techniques, the progress of long-term operating stability of MT-SOFCs, the technology of hydrocarbons reforming, the design of current collector and the achievements of MT-SOFCs stack design. In addition, a brief discussion on the current challenges is also mentioned.