A novel Boudouard reaction catalyst derived from strontium slag for enhanced performance of direct carbon solid oxide fuel cells

•Strontium slag is first introduced in DC-SOFCs to improve electrochemical performance.•There are many superior metallic catalysts for carbon gasification in strontium slag.•DC-SOFC output is improved from 189 to 248 mW cm−2 by strontium slag-derived catalyst.•DC-SOFC fueled by SSC-loaded carbon is comparable to the hydrogen-fueled SOFC.•SSC-loaded carbon-fueled DC-SOFC operates for 32.0 h with fuel utilization of 25.6%.