Fabrication of Ni0.5Cu0.5Ox coated YSZ anode by hard template method for solid oxide fuel cells

The fabrication of stereoscopic anode with high porosity is essential for the effective use of natural gas as fuel in solid oxide fuel cells. The tubular YSZ coated by Ni0.5Cu0.5Ox was prepared by hard template method combined with wet impregnation method. YSZ electrolyte-supported single cell was fabricated by using Ni0.5Cu0.5Ox-YSZ as anode for the power generation performance test and the long-term stability test. The surface composition and microstructure of anode were further analyzed by SEM and EDS after 100 h test. The maximum power densities of 315.52 and 241.77 mW cm−2 were achieved under dry methane and wet methane (3% H2O) at 800 °C, respectively. The voltage was stable even after tested for 100 h with the fuel of wet methane. The SEM observation of the tested anode showed that the tubular YSZ had hollow structure, in which both internal and external surfaces were coated by Ni0.5Cu0.5 alloy particles, resulting a stable structure.