Plasma sprayed coatings for low-temperature SOFC and high temperature effects on Lix(Ni,Co)yO2 catalyst layers

In this paper, a new plasma spray technology working in low pressure condition has been successfully applied to deposit Lix(Ni,Co)yO2 catalyst/electrode layers for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (LT-SOFCs). The low pressure induced distinctive phenomena were illustrated for presenting the characteristics and advances of such coating technique. Micro-nano crystalline microstructure was generated on the plasma sprayed coatings simultaneously with phase transformation taking place. To study the effect of high temperature on such catalyst material, sintering experiments were carried out at 600-1000 °C. The results show that the ratio of x/y decreased when increasing temperature and sintering time because of the degradation of Li from Lix(Ni,Co)yO2 phase. The catalytic property and stability of the Lix(Ni,Co)yO2 at various temperatures were also discussed.