Porous Ni/8YSZ anode of SOFC fabricated by the plasma sprayed method

In the present study, porous electrode coating of Ni/8YSZ on the interconnector material was made by the plasma-spraying. By introducing the pore former into the composite powder, the porous structure of SOFC anode will be obtained. By using the plasma spraying technique for SOFC fabrication, we can avoid the thermal failure between the components of SOFC which made from the traditional sintering method at high temperature. In this study, two kinds of composite powders in the granulate form were prepared, one with the nano carbon as a pore former and the other without the carbon. The results showed that the porous structure of SOFC anode could be achieved by the plasma spraying technique. The porosity of the anode made from the composite powder with pore former was 40%. Without pore former the porosity in the anode coating after hydrogen reduction was almost 30%. These results suggest that this method exhibits the potential to manufacture the porous ceramic/metal composite anode of SOFC to achieve the larger triple phase boundary for fuel oxidation.

► Plasma spray technique could prepare porous anodic coating quickly and effectively.
► The porosity of the anode made from the composite powder with pore former was 40%.
► Preparing SOFC electrode components would more simple and rapid.