NiO-GDC nanowire anodes for SOFCs: novel growth, characterization and cell performance

Abstract

A solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a sustainable energy resource that has been efficiently used for large-scale applications such as gas-turbines. However, its miniaturization for small-scale applications requires novel electrode materials especially anodes (other than Ni-YSZ) in different configurations and designs such as in the nanostructure form. Herein, we are proposing the growth of a novel nickel oxide–gadolinium doped ceria (NiO-GDC) nanowire-based anode using a vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) mechanism. To the best of our knowledge, NiO-GDC has never been grown before in the form of nanowires using the VLS mechanism. The nanowires are prepared at different evaporation temperatures and exhibit dense morphology. Detailed Raman spectroscopy reveals that during the growth, reorganization of NiO-GDC particles results in the formation of a more complex structure that diverges from pristine NiO-GDC powder. Furthermore, the temperature-dependence of the electrical conductivity reveals that the nanowires prepared at 1400 °C (evaporation temperature) possess high conductivity due to better charge-carrier transport, confirmed by their low activation energies. The electrolyte-supported button cell synthesized using a NiO-GDC nanowire anode exhibits a maximum power density of ∼178 mW cm⁻² at 800 °C and concentration polarization is found to be the major loss, as revealed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data. Based on our preliminary investigations, these nanowires have great potential to be used as an anode for SOFCs.