Evaluation of solution combustion synthesized NiO/GDC ceramic powders for anode substrate and anode functional layers of intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell

Solution combustion (SC) is a versatile technique for the preparation of composite anode powders of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). In the present investigation, NiO/GDC ceramic powders, an anode material for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC), has been prepared by SC method by using oxalyl di hydrazide (ODH) and hexamethylnetetramine (HMT) as fuels. Reaction with ODH as fuel resulted in the powders consisting of small particle and crystallite size, whereas, powders prepared using HMT as fuel consisted of agglomerated particles which led to the porous structures in the fabricated anode layers. Through combined microstructural analysis, porosity measurements and conductivity measurements, it was inferred that powders prepared using ODH as fuel are ideal for anode functional layers. On the other hand, powders prepared using HMT as fuels are best suited for anode substrate fabrication.