Cermet anodes electrodes, microstructure

So far, the discussion has related largely to the compositional nature of candidate anodes however, the microstructure of the electrode is at least as important as its composition. The optimization of durable efficient nickel cermet anodes in recent... 

The anode (fuel electrode) consists of an approximately 120/rm thick Ni/YSZ cermet layer. This is achieved simply by applying a slurry of nickel and YSZ powders to the electrolyte and sintering. A cross-section of the 3-layer microstructure is shown in Fig. 4.33. 

It is very important for a high-performance electrode to have both a highly active electrocatalytic reaction zone and a sufficient gas-supply network in its microstructure. The conventional anode material used so far is Ni-YSZ cermet prepared from pm-sized NiO and YSZ particles as shown in Fig. 3A. Because all reactants (fuel gas, electrons, and oxide ions) must meet together at the reaction sites, the so-called "three phase boundary (TPB) zone is the effective... 

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