Development of Ni/Y2O3-ZrO2 cermet anodes for solid oxide fuel cells

Ni/Y2O3-ZrO2 (Ni/YSZ) cermets are the most common anode materials for high temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). Electrode performance of Ni/YSZ cermets is critically dependent on the microstructure and distribution of Ni and YSZ phases in the cermets. This in turn is closely related to the characteristics of the NiO and YSZ powders, and the fabrication process. The objective of this paper is to discuss some important issues associated with the fabrication and development of Ni/Y2O3-ZrO2 anode materials for SOFC from the viewpoint of materials science and technology. Results indicate that the optimisation of Ni/YSZ cermet anodes is a complicated process and understanding of the H-2 oxidation reaction is also very important in the development of high performance Ni/YSZ cermet anodes.