Fabrication of tubular NiO/YSZ anode-support of solid oxide fuel cell by gelcasting

A gelcasting process has been developed to fabricate tubular NiO/YSZ anode-support for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) successfully. The rheological behaviors of the ceramic particle suspensions for gelcasting were investigated as a function of the process parameters, such as the amount of pore former, pH value, dispersant concentration, monomer concentration, ball-mill time and solid loading. The sintering shrinkage, microstructure, bending strength and electrical conductivity of the sintered specimens were examined. The tubular Ni/YSZ anode-support obtained under the optimized preparation conditions exhibited a porosity of 39.6%, mean pore size of below 0.9 μm, 482 s cm−1 in electrical conductivity at 700 °C, and the bending strength of 112.8 MPa, which can well meet the requirements for SOFCs.