Electrical and microstructural characterization of Ni/YSZ cermet anode for anode-supported type SOFC

Abstract

It is well known that the anode substrate of anode-supported type SOFC should have high electrical conductivity and high gas permeability to minimize the polarization loss of the cell performance during operation. We developed an innovative processing technology to produce thin and large size anode substrate with very high uniformity by employing liquid condensation process for granulation of powder mixture. This process allowed easy manipulation of the microstructure and/or pore structure of anode substrate, which leads the variation of the unit cell performance. We performed electrical and microstructural characterization of Ni/YSZ cermet anode via extensive measurements of its electrical conductivity and gas permeability combined with adequate Image analysis based on quantitative stereological theory.