Optimization of Material Contrast for Efficient FIB‐SEM Tomography of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Focused ion beam (FIB) – scanning electron microscopy (SEM) serial sectioning tomography has become an important tool for three‐dimensional microstructure reconstruction of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) to obtain an understanding of fabrication‐related effects and SOFC performance. By sequential FIB milling and SEM imaging a stack of cross‐section images across all functional SOFC layers was generated covering a large volume of 3.5·10$^{4}$ μm$^{3}$. One crucial step is image segmentation where regions with different image intensities are assigned to different material phases within the SOFC. To analyze all relevant SOFC materials, it was up to now mandatory to acquire several images by scanning the same region with different imaging parameters because sufficient material contrast could otherwise not be achieved. In this work we obtained high‐contast SEM images from a single scan to reconstract all functional SOFC layers consisting of a Ni/Y$_{2}$O$_{3}$‐doped ZrO$_{2}$ (YDZ) cermet anode, YDZ electrolyte and (La,Sr)MnO$_{3}$/YDZ cathode. This was possible by using different, simultaneous read‐out detectors installed in a state‐of‐the‐art scanning electron microscope. In addition, we used a deterministic approach for the optimization of imaging parameters by employing Monte Carlo simulations rather than trial‐and‐error tests. We also studied the effect of detection geometry, detecting angle range and detector type

SOFC Anode Fabricated by Magnetically Aligning of Ni Particles

Ni particles are aligned by magnetic field during the drying process after screen-printing Ni/8YSZ (yttria-stabilized zirconia) paste. By applying a magnetic field, Ni particles are magnetically polarized, attracted to each other, and align along the magnetic field. It is proposed, that not only tortuosity of Ni but also that of YSZ and of pores is decreased. Symmetrical half cells are fabricated with 15-µm-thick anodes and 200-µm-thick YSZ electrolytes. A current collector made of porous Ni with a thickness of approximately 5 µm was printed on top of each anode. The microstructural changes in the anodes are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Impedance measurements are performed at 700°C in H 2 /H 2 O atmospheres containing 10% and 60% H 2 O. The initial polarization resistance was decreased after applying a magnetic field of 100 mT by up to 25%. However, with higher magnetic field, the polarization resistance increases, which might be explained by a pronounced increase of the surface roughness with 30 µm peak-to-valley, causing current constriction

Anode-supported planar SOFC with high performance and redox stability

Solid oxide fuel cells with full ceramic anodes have recently attracted increasing attention, because the conventional Ni/YSZ cermet anodes may fail during practical operation due to their weak mechanical stability in the case of re-oxidation of the nickel. However, until now the reported fuel cells based on ceramic anodes have been fabricated only as small pellet-sized cells and electrochemical performance has been barely satisfactory, making it difficult to evaluate these attempts with respect to commercial feasibility. Herein, we report single cells based on Y-substituted SrTiO3 anode substrates. These planar cells have outer dimensions of 50 x 50 mm(2), which has not been reached for a ceramic anode-supported cell before. They show power densities of 0.7-1.0W cm(-2) at 0.7 V and 800 degrees C, which are sufficient for technical applications. The cells survived 200 anode-gas changes between fuel and air (redox cycles), providing a new direction for the development and commercialisation of anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells