Characterization of spherical NiO-YSZ anode composites for solid oxide fuel cells synthesized by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis

Spherical NiO-YSZ particles were synthesized by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP). The morphology of the synthesized particles can be modified by controlling parameters such as precursor pH, carrier-gas flow-rate, and temperature of the heating zone. The synthesized spherical NiO-YSZ particles have rough surface morphology at high carrier-gas flow-rates due to rapid gas exhaustion and insufficient particle ordering. The Ni-YSZ cermet anode synthesized by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis at a flow rate of l L/min, with precursor solution at pH4, showed a higher maximum power density of 256 mW/cm² compared to a conventionally mixed Ni-YSZ anode (185 mW/cm²) at 800oC. While the area-specific resistance of conventionally mixed Ni-YSZ anodes increases gradually with operation time (indicating performance degradation), the Ni-YSZ anode synthesized by USP does not exhibit any performance degradation, even after 500 h.