Preparation and properties of Ni/YSZ anode by coating precipitation method

Abstract NiO/yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) powder was prepared by coating precipitation of ZrOCl 2 ·8H 2 O and YCl 3 , which produced a layer of amorphous zirconium hydroxide homogeneously coated onto the surface of NiO powder. The YSZ coating layer was crystallized to cubic ZrO 2 with the size of about 20 nm after calcining at 600 and 800 °C, respectively. The main microstructure change was the agglomeration and coarsening of metallic Ni. The YSZ coating layer on the NiO surface using the coating precipitation method efficiently prevented the sintering and agglomeration of Ni. YSZ formed a continuous network structure, and Ni particles were dispersed homogeneously in the YSZ network through SEM analysis, which made a great contribution to the improvement of electrical conductivity of the Ni/YSZ cermet. The conductivity reached about 900 S/cm between 600 and 800 °C, so it was a suitable candidate anode material for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs).