SOFC Anode Based on YSZ Pillars

Abstract

From the view point of tortuosity, aligned yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and Ni particles and triple-phase boundaries (TPBs) are promising structures for the low-resistance transportation of species and their chemical reaction in the anode of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). In this study, we formed prototype patterns of YSZ pillars with infiltrated Ni and investigated the effect of the configuration of pillars, corresponding to the TPB length, on the electric-generation performance of full cell including the anode. The YSZ pillars were fabricated using an excimer laser. The pillar width was set to 5, 10, 20, and 40 μm, and deeper trenches were fabricated in wider pillars. The trenches in the YSZ patterns were infiltrated with Ni particles. Finer pillars resulted in higher electric-generation performance. The surface area density of the YSZ pillars was approximately proportional to the maximum power density. This shows that the TPB length density is more important than the transportation resistance of oxygen ions in YSZ pillars. This phenomena is discussed on the basis of simulation by the lattice-Boltzmann method.