Formation of nanostructured YSZ/Ni anode with pore channels by plasma spraying

YSZ/Ni is the conventionally most used material for making the anode of a solid oxide fuel cell. Agglomerated nanostructured YSZ/NiO powders and plasma spray are applied to produce nanostructured YSZ/NiO coatings on porous support substrates. After reduction in an ambient atmosphere of 7% hydrogen and 93% argon at about 800 °C for 4 hours, a novel SOFC anode with nanostructured characteristics such as nano YSZ particles, nano Ni particles, nano pores and nano pore channels is produced. This new YSZ/Ni anode provides larger triple phase boundaries for hydrogen oxidation reactions. X-ray diffraction patterns of these YSZ/NiO coatings after 1 h of heat treatment at temperatures from 700 to 1100 °C are obtained and Scherrer analysis is conducted to study the effect of temperature on grain size. The results obtained from SEM, TEM, XRD and EDX measurements and analyses are presented in this investigation.