Effect of Ni content on the morphological evolution of Ni-YSZ solid oxide fuel cell electrodes
Abstract
The coarsening of Ni in Ni–yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) anodes is a potential cause of long term solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) performance degradation. The specifics of the Ni-YSZ structure—including Ni/YSZ ratio, porosity, and particle size distributions—are normally selected to minimize anode polarization resistance, but they also impact long-term stability. A better understanding of how these factors influence long-term stability is important for designing more durable anodes. The effect of structural details, e.g., Ni-YSZ ratio, on Ni coarsening has not been quantified. Furthermore, prior measurements have been done by comparing evolved structures with control samples, such that sample-to-sample variations introduce errors. Here in this paper, we report a four dimensional (three spatial dimensions and time) study of Ni coarsening in Ni-YSZ anode functional layers with different Ni/YSZ ratios, using synchrotron x-ray nano-tomography. The continuous structural evolution was observed and analyzed at sub-100 nm resolution. It is shown quantitatively that increasing the Ni/YSZ ratio increases the Ni coarsening rate. This is due to both increased pore volume and a decrease in the YSZ volume fraction, such that there is more free volume and a less obtrusive YSZ network, both of which allow greater Ni coarsening. The results are shown to be inmore »
- Authors:
-
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States). National Synchrotron Light Source II
- Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States). Department of Materials Science and Engineering
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1340378
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1239446
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-112539-2016-JA
Journal ID: ISSN 0003-6951
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC00112704; AC02-98CH10886
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Applied Physics Letters
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 108; Journal Issue: 8; Journal ID: ISSN 0003-6951
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Citation Formats
Chen-Wiegart, Yu-chen Karen, Kennouche, David, Scott Cronin, J., Barnett, Scott A., and Wang, Jun. Effect of Ni content on the morphological evolution of Ni-YSZ solid oxide fuel cell electrodes. United States: N. p., 2016.
Web. doi:10.1063/1.4942459.
Chen-Wiegart, Yu-chen Karen, Kennouche, David, Scott Cronin, J., Barnett, Scott A., & Wang, Jun. Effect of Ni content on the morphological evolution of Ni-YSZ solid oxide fuel cell electrodes. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4942459
Chen-Wiegart, Yu-chen Karen, Kennouche, David, Scott Cronin, J., Barnett, Scott A., and Wang, Jun. Thu .
"Effect of Ni content on the morphological evolution of Ni-YSZ solid oxide fuel cell electrodes". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4942459. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1340378.
@article{osti_1340378,
title = {Effect of Ni content on the morphological evolution of Ni-YSZ solid oxide fuel cell electrodes},
author = {Chen-Wiegart, Yu-chen Karen and Kennouche, David and Scott Cronin, J. and Barnett, Scott A. and Wang, Jun},
abstractNote = {The coarsening of Ni in Ni–yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) anodes is a potential cause of long term solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) performance degradation. The specifics of the Ni-YSZ structure—including Ni/YSZ ratio, porosity, and particle size distributions—are normally selected to minimize anode polarization resistance, but they also impact long-term stability. A better understanding of how these factors influence long-term stability is important for designing more durable anodes. The effect of structural details, e.g., Ni-YSZ ratio, on Ni coarsening has not been quantified. Furthermore, prior measurements have been done by comparing evolved structures with control samples, such that sample-to-sample variations introduce errors. Here in this paper, we report a four dimensional (three spatial dimensions and time) study of Ni coarsening in Ni-YSZ anode functional layers with different Ni/YSZ ratios, using synchrotron x-ray nano-tomography. The continuous structural evolution was observed and analyzed at sub-100 nm resolution. It is shown quantitatively that increasing the Ni/YSZ ratio increases the Ni coarsening rate. This is due to both increased pore volume and a decrease in the YSZ volume fraction, such that there is more free volume and a less obtrusive YSZ network, both of which allow greater Ni coarsening. The results are shown to be in good agreement with a power-law coarsening model. In conclusion, the finding is critical for informing the design of SOFC electrode microstructures that limit coarsening and performance degradation.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4942459},
journal = {Applied Physics Letters},
number = 8,
volume = 108,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Feb 25 00:00:00 EST 2016},
month = {Thu Feb 25 00:00:00 EST 2016}
}
Web of Science
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