Characteristic and preparation of Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 as the anode support for solid oxide fuel cells by phase inversion technology

• Nanoscale Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 material with high specific area was prepared as anode of SOFCs.
• The NiO–Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 anode with unique structure was obtained by phase-inversion technique.
• Anode-supported cells exhibit good power density of 508 mW cm−2 when operated at 800 °C.
• The NiO–Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 anode exhibits good resistance to carbon deposition.

Nanoscale oxide Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 powder has been prepared by a microwave combustion method as the anode material for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). The Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 material has been characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the BET method. The NiO–Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 anode-supported cells are prepared by phase inversion technique and YSZ electrolyte thin film is obtained by dip-coating. The dual-pore structure anode and dense electrolyte are observed by SEM after co-firing process. Excellent electrochemical performance of single cell is demonstrated operating on hydrogen (3% H2O), exhibiting the maximum power densities of 218, 342 and 508 mW cm−2 at 700, 750 and 800 °C, respectively. In addition, NiO–Ce0.5Zr0.5O2 anode possess high resistance to carbon deposition, indicating which could be promising candidate anodes for direct hydrocarbon SOFCs.