Anodes Produced by Infiltration

Porosity is one of the most important parameters which affects the anode (and also the cathode) structure to be infiltrated, hence it needs to be controlled for an effective infiltration application. One of the methods of forming porosity in 

The thickness of the porous scaffold that will be infiltrated to produce the anode is an important parameter. The electrochemical reaction occurs at the TPB, as already mentioned above. It has been reported by various researchers that the maximum extension distance of the TPB from the electrolyte into the electrode is 10 gm [50-52]. This observation shows that if the porous scaffold produced is thicker than 10 gm, it will be difficult for the infiltrated anode catalyst to be in the TPB zone, hence the power density to be obtained from the SOFC will be lower than it should be. 

Another solution to overcome the thickness issue is the addition of materials with MI EC to the anode to extend the TPB area [53]. A related issue to the thickness of the porous backbone is the mechanical strength. If the backbone is required to be of a thickness of around 10 gm and to have pores, then the mechanical strength will be very different than that of conventionally produced electrodes. Especially if the SOFC is anode supported then the anode should have a thickness in the region of 100 gm. 

Gorte and co-workers added a support layer on a porous electrode to produce mechanically resistive SOFCs with infiltrated electrodes [54]. The support layer can be produced using the same material as the electrolyte. The support layer 

and Luo, L, GDC-impregnated Ni anodes for direct utilization of methane in solid oxide fuel cells, 159, 68-72. Copyright 2006, with permission from Elsevier. 

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