17A1 W20 – X-ray Powder Diffraction Studies of Grain Size Effects of the Anode of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Fabricated by Plasma Spray Deposition

The long term structural stability of a solid state fuel cell (SOFC) is an important goal. A Ni–YSZ cermet has been used as an anode material for SOFC typically. In this anode, the electrochemical activity of the cermet anode strongly depends on a three-phase boundary (TPB) composed of Ni grains, YSZ grains and pores. The electrochemical reaction occurs on the TPB in the anode. It is crucial to obtain better morphology including larger TPB composed of Ni and YSZ grains for the achievement of high-performance anode. In this study, high quality Ni and YSZ composite nanoparticles were fabricated by thermal plasma spray method. The composite nanoparticles of SOFC anode created by this method have larger TPB than the existing commercial anode. To understand the particle size effect of SOFC anode an