Preparation and characterisation of NiO–Ce0.8Gd0.2O composite nanofibres via electrospinning

Ni-Ce_0.8Gd_0.2O_1.9 composite is an efficient anode electrode in solid oxide fuel cells. In this study, for the first time, the remarkably simple technique of electrospinning has been employed to prepare the corresponding nanofibres. For this purpose, the cation complexation method was applied for preparing a sol containing Ni, Gd and Ce nitrates as the precursors and citric acid as the chelating agent. Gel formation was accomplished by heating the sol at 80°C and then a polyvinyl alcohol solution was added to maintain proper viscosity of the electrospinning solution. The spun nanofibres were calcined at different temperatures to obtain the NiO-GDC nanofibrous material. Calcined nanofibres were characterised by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, a energy dispersive spectrometer, transmission electron microscopy and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller techniques. It was found that the size of crystalline nanofibres were in the range of 90°nm. Specific surface area is found to be 145°m²/g for the calcined nanofibre at 900°C.