Processing microstructure property correlation of porous Ni–YSZ cermets anode for SOFC application

The present paper investigates microstructural properties and electrical conductivity of cermets prepared by a solid-state technique, a liquid-dispersion technique and a novel electroless coating technique. The Ni–YSZ processed through different techniques shows varying temperature-conductivity behaviour. The cermets synthesised by electroless coating were found to be electronically conducting with 20 vol% nickel, which is substantially lower than that normally reported. The conductivity of Ni–YSZ cermets was found highest for the samples prepared by an electroless coating technique and lowest for the samples prepared by a solid-state technique, the samples prepared from liquid-dispersion show an intermediate value for a constant nickel content. The variation in electrical conductivity has been well explained from the microstructure of the samples.