title: Three-dimensional microstructure of high-performance pulsed-laser deposited Ni-YSZ SOFC anodes.
abstract: The Ni-yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) anode functional layer in solid oxide fuel cells produced by pulsed laser-deposition was studied using three-dimensional tomography. Anode feature sizes of ~130 nm were quite small relative to typical anodes, but errors arising in imaging and segmentation were shown using a sensitivity analysis to be acceptable. Electrochemical characterization showed that these cells achieved a relatively high maximum power density of 1.4 W cm(-2) with low cell resistance at an operating temperature of 600 °C. The tomographic data showed anode three-phase boundary density of ~56 μm(-2), more than 10 times the value observed in conventional Ni-YSZ anodes. Anode polarization resistance values, predicted by combining the structural data and literature values of three-phase boundary resistance in an electrochemical model, were consistent with measured electrochemical impedance spectra, explaining the excellent intermediate-temperature performance of these cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA. s-barnett@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kennouche
authors.forename: Jongsup
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Ho-Sung
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Noh
authors.forename: Ji-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Son
authors.forename: Scott A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Barnett