Preparation of Porous NiO-Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 Ceramics for Anode-supported Low-temperatureSolid Oxide Fuel Cells

Porous NiO-Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 (NiO-SDC) ceramics with homogeneous pore distribution were prepared using polystyrene (PS) spheres as pore templates. NiO-SDC powders were synthesized by a glycine-nitrate method, ultrasonically mixed with PS spheres in ethanol, dried and then pressed into green pellets. The pellets were sintered to yield porous NiO-SDC ceramics. The effects of the sintering temperature on the microstructure and mechanical strength of the ceramics were investigated. NiO-SDC ceramics sintered at 1200 and 1350°C have interconnected pore structures and high compression strength. When single cells were fabricated using porous NiO-SDC ceramics as anode-supported layers, the peak power density of the cells at 600°C was 333 and 353 mW·cm−2 for ceramics sintered at 1200 and 1350°C, respectively. The results indicated that these porous ceramic materials are promising for anode substrates for solid oxide fuel cells.