Electronic and morphological characterization of nanostructured Ni-doped (Ce,Gd)O2-δanodes for IT-SOFCS

Abstract

We present a new modified sol-gel method to incorporate Ni into the precursors solution. This route produces a powder with a very homogeneous Ni distribution as observed by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Transmission electron microscopy. (TEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis indicate that this modification resulted in smaller particle sizes with narrower distribution than the commercial cermet. The study of the oxidation state and coordination of Ce and Ni in these cermets, simulating in-operando conditions, is performed using synchrotron Dispersive X-ray absorption spectroscopy (DXAS) technique. A correlation between the catalytic/redox properties with the samplés characteristics (microstructure, Ni distribution, etc.) is discussed.