Single step synthesis of mesoporous nio-CE_0.8SM_0.2O_2-δ composite anode for low-temperature SOFC

The performance of the CeO₂-based composite anodes depends on microstructural features such as particle size, tripe phase boundaries (TPB), surface area, and percolation. To improve the performance of anode, i.e. to enlarge TPB, anode materials with both porous structure and phase homogeneity of metal and ceramic are preferred. In the present study, we developed a novel onestep template-, surfactant-free synthesis route for mesoporous CE_0.8SM_0.2O_2-δ composite anode by homogeneous precipitation of precursor in aqueous solutions followed by calcination. The composite anode sample was characterized by thermogravimetry analysis, X-ray diffraction, SEM, BET, etc. The refinement of the XRD data indicated that the composite sample synthesized by the process called "one step synthesis" produced smaller crystallite size in comparison to the sample attained by the two steps process. Fuel cells have been constructed using as-prepared composite as anodes and lithiated NiO as cathode based on the SDCcarbonate composite electrolyte. Simple preliminary performance tests were done with single cells in which such I-V curves indicated that the cell with one step anode had better performance.