Microstructure evaluation of Ni–SDC synthesized with an innovative method and Ni–SDC/SDC bi-layer construction

Nickel oxide and samaria-doped ceria based anode material (NiO–SDC) for high temperature ceramic fuel cells was synthesized via an innovative, simplified method using the reaction of metal acetates and ethylene glycol. Ni content in the final product was 55 vol% while the Ce:Sm molar ratio in the SDC (45 vol%) was 80:20. The influences of preparation conditions including the calcination temperature and morphology characteristics of the prepared powders as well as the influence of the sintering temperature on the final microstructure of sintered bodies were investigated with EGA, BET, XRD, a heating microscope and FE-SEM. After calcination at 500 °C, the one-step synthesis gave powdered products with the specific surface area of 72.5 m2 g−1. The optimal sintering temperature that ensured relatively high sintered densities and excellent contact between grains was found at 1250 °C. After sintering at 1250 °C, the prepared bi-layer system electrolyte/anode showed the highest contiguity, excellent contact between phases and proper porosity (31.2%) confirmed from SEM micrographs.