Preparation and electrochemical properties of Ni–SDC thin films for IT-SOFC anode

NiO–SDC (Samaria-doped ceria) composite powders were synthesized using a urea-combustion technique and Ni–SDC thin films for an intermediate temperature SOFC (IT-SOFC) anode were fabricated by a slurry spin coating method. The results show that the pre-calcination temperatures of the NiO–SDC powders have a significant effect on the microstructure and electrochemical properties of the Ni–SDC anode. A ∼10 μm thin film anode with preferred microstructure can be obtained by using the powders pre-calcined at 1000 °C. The three-electrode half cell configuration was selected to investigate the electrochemical performance of the thin film on dense yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrates. The Ni–SDC anodes exhibited a polarization resistance of 0.11 Ω*cm−2 together with an overpotential of 33.1 mV under a current density of 200 mA*cm−2 at 800 °C in a 60% N2 + 40% H2 atmosphere.