Direct comparison between X-ray nanotomography and scanning electron microscopy for the microstructure characterization of a solid oxide fuel cell anode

Journal Article · Mon Apr 15 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · Materials Characterization

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/J.MATCHAR.2013.02.001· OSTI ID:22285034

Quey, R., E-mail: [e-mail] ^[1]; École des Mines de Saint-Étienne, CNRS UMR 5307, 158 cours Fauriel, 42023 Saint-Étienne, Cedex 2 ^[2]; Suhonen, H., E-mail: [e-mail] ^[3]; Laurencin, J., E-mail: [e-mail] ^[4]; Cloetens, P., E-mail: [e-mail] ^[3]; Bleuet, P., E-mail: [e-mail] ^[1]

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1. CEA, LETI, MINATEC Campus, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France)
2. (France)
3. European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), 6 Rue Jules Horowitz BP 220, 38043 Grenoble (France)
4. CEA-Liten, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France)

X-ray computed nanotomography (nano-CT) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been applied to characterize the microstructure of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) anode. A direct comparison between the results of both methods is conducted on the same region of the microstructure to assess the spatial resolution of the nano-CT microstructure, SEM being taken as a reference. A registration procedure is proposed to find out the position of the SEM image within the nano-CT volume. It involves a second SEM observation, which is taken along an orthogonal direction and gives an estimate reference SEM image position, which is then refined by an automated optimization procedure. This enables an unbiased comparison between the cell porosity morphologies provided by both methods. In the present experiment, nano-CT is shown to underestimate the number of pores smaller than 1 μm and overestimate the size of the pores larger than 1.5 μm. - Highlights: ► X-ray computed nanotomography (nano-CT) and SEM are used to characterize an SOFC anode. ► A methodology is proposed to compare the nano-CT and SEM data on the same region. ► The spatial resolution of the nano-CT data is assessed from that comparison.

• OSTI ID: 22285034
• Journal Information: Materials Characterization, Vol. 78; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2013 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1044-5803
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
MICROSTRUCTURE
POROSITY
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS
SPATIAL RESOLUTION
X RADIATION