Improving the performance of SOFC anodes by decorating perovskite with Ni nanoparticles

In this work (La_0.75Sr_0.25)_0.97Cr _0.5Mn_0.5O₃ (LSCM) perovskite powders were pre-coated with 5 wt% nickel and mixed with different amounts of CGO for testing as anode materials under 3% wet H₂. By using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) with X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), we demonstrated that Ni forms a solid solution in the perovkite phase under oxidizing atmosphere and exsolves in form of nanoparticles under reducing atmospheres. The presence of the catalyst nanoparticles led to a decrease in the anodic activation energy by half and thus the polarization resistance was dropped by 60% at 800°C. The effect of CGO amount will be also discussed.