X-ray nano computerised tomography of SOFC electrodes using a focused ion beam sample-preparation technique

High-resolution tomography techniques have facilitated an improved understanding of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) electrode microstructures.The use of X-ray nano computerised tomography (nano-CT) imposes some geometrical constraints on the sample under investigation; in this paper, we present the development of an advanced preparation technique to optimise sample geometries for X-ray nano-CT, utilizing a focused ion beam (FIB) system to shape the sample according to the X-ray field of view at the required magnification.The technique has been successfully applied to a Ni-YSZ electrode material: X-ray nano-CT has been conducted at varying length scales and is shown to provide good agreement; comparison of results from X-ray and more conventional FIB tomography is also demonstrated to be favourable.Tomographic reconstructions of SOFC electrodes with volumes spanning two orders of magnitude are presented.