Nickel-Zirconia cermet processing by mechanical alloying for solid oxide fuel cell anodes

This paper describes the development of a process based on high energy milling (or mechanical alloying—MA) of metallic Ni and YSZ at 40 vol% Ni composition for the preparation of solid oxide fuel cell anode material. The cermet powder is consolidated using the surface activated sintering (SAS) method. The cermet pellets possess microstructural characteristics that can potentially lead to higher electrocatalytic activity and fuel reforming capability. In addition to the development of a new processing method for this purpose, a further differential of this work is the addition of Cu in partial substitution of Ni as a means to prevent the formation of carbon on its surface and, hence, the anode’s degradation during service. The prepared powder samples are well dispersed and structured at the nanometric level, showing thin lamellar constituents. Suitable sintered pellets can be obtained from the powders with the required porosity and microstructure. The higher the energy delivered by MA the lower the initial sintering temperature. Activation energies are determined by stepwise isothermal dilatometry (SID) for Ni-YSZ and Ni/Cu-YSZ pellets, involving a 2-step sintering process. The Cu additive promotes sintering and leads to a refined microstructure.