Effects of Microwave Processing on the Properties of Nickel Oxide/Zirconia/Ceria Composites

Abstract:

The effect of a microwave-assisted hydrothermal (MWH) treatment on the structural, thermal, and electrical properties of NiO/ZrO₂:8 mol%Y₂O₃(YSZ)/CeO₂ (60/20/20 wt.%) composite was investigated. Powders were synthesized by a hydroxide coprecipitation-impregnation technique, in which Ni and Ce oxides were coprecipitaed in a suspension containing YSZ. Simultaneous thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis revealed that MWH treatment promotes the crystallization of coprecipitated phases. X-ray diffraction analysis was used for phase identification and the calculated lattice parameters indicated the formation of YSZ:CeO₂ solid solution during sintering. Impedance spectroscopy measurements showed that the electrical properties of the composite samples were not significantly affected by the MHW.

References

[1] N.Q. Minh, Ceramic fuel cells, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 76 (1993) 563-588.

[2] P.I. Cowin, C.T.G. Petit, R. Lan, J.T.S. Irvine, S. Tao, Recent Progress in the Development of Anode Materials for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, Adv. Energy Mater. 1 (2011) 314-322.

DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201100108

[3] D.S. Mclachlan, M. Blaszkiewicz, R.E. Newnham, Electrical-resistivity of composites, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 73 (1990), 2187-2203.

DOI: 10.1111/j.1151-2916.1990.tb07576.x

[4] D. Segal, Chemical synthesis of ceramic materials, J. Mater. Chem. 7 (1997) 1297-1305.

[5] E. Vincenzo, D.Z. de Florio, F.C. Fonseca, E.N.S. Muccillo, R. Muccillo, E. Traversa, Electrical properties of YSZ/NiO composites prepared by a liquid mixture technique, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 25 (2005) 2637-2641.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2005.03.116

[6] A. Ringuedé, D. Bronine, J.R. Frade, Assessment of Ni/YSZ anodes prepared by combustion synthesis, Solid State Ionics 146 (2002) 219-224.

DOI: 10.1016/s0167-2738(01)00996-1

[7] P.G. Keech, D.E. Trifan, V.I. Birss, Synthesis and performance of sol-gel prepared Ni-YSZ cermet SOFC anodes, J. Electrochem. Soc. 152 (2005) A645-A651.

DOI: 10.1149/1.1855875

[8] M. Marinsek, K. Zupan, J. Macek, Preparation of Ni-YSZ composite materials for solid oxide fuel cell anodes by gel-precipitation method, J. Power Sources 86 (2000) 383-389.

DOI: 10.1016/s0378-7753(99)00425-5

[9] G.A. Tompsett, W.C. Conner, K.S. Yngvesson, Microwave synthesis of nanoporous materials, Chem Phys Chem 7 (2006), 296-319.

DOI: 10.1002/cphc.200500449

[10] S. Shi, J. -Y. Hwang, Microwave-assisted wet chemical synthesis: advantages, significance, and steps to industrialization, J. Min Mater. Charact. Eng. 2 (2003) 101-110.

DOI: 10.4236/jmmce.2003.22009

[11] E.T. Thostenson, T. -W. Chow, Microwave processing: fundamentals and applications, Composites: Part A 30 (1999) 1055-1071.

[12] D.E. Clark, W.H. Sutton, Microwave processing of materials, Annu. Rev. Mater. Sci. 26 (1996) 299-331.

DOI: 10.1146/annurev.ms.26.080196.001503

[13] T. Subbaiah, R. Mohapatra, S. Mallick, K.G. Misra, P. Singh P, R.P. Das, Characterization of nickel hydroxide precipitated from solutions containing Ni2+ complexing agents, Hydrometallurgy 68 (2003) 151-157.

DOI: 10.1016/s0304-386x(02)00203-7

[14] W.K. Yoshito, V. Ussui, D.R.R. Lazar, J.O.A. Paschoal, Synthesis and characterization of NiO-8YSZ powders by coprecipitation route, Mater. Sci. Forum 498-499 (2005) 612-617.

DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/msf.498-499.612

[15] B. Djuricic, S. Pickering, Nanostructured cerium oxide: Preparation and properties of weakly agglomerated powders, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 19 (1999) 1925-(1934).

DOI: 10.1016/s0955-2219(99)00006-0

[16] P. -L. Chen, I. -W. Chen, Reactive cerium (IV) oxide powders by the homogeneous precipitation method, J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 76 (1993) 1577-1583.

DOI: 10.1111/j.1151-2916.1993.tb03942.x

[17] P. Jeevanandam, Y. Koltypin, A. Gedanken, Synthesis of nanosized α-nickel hydroxide by a sonochemical method, Nano Letters 1 (2001) 263-266.

DOI: 10.1021/nl010003p

[18] Q. Song, Z. Tang, H. Guo, S.L. I Chan, Structural characteristics of nickel hydroxide synthesized by a chemical precipitation route under different pH values, J. Power Sources 112 (2002) 428-434.

DOI: 10.1016/s0378-7753(02)00396-8

[19] C. Wang, Y. Wang, W. Huang, B. Zou, Z.S. Khan, Y. Zhao, J. Yang, X. Cao, Influence of CeO2 addition on crystal growth behavior of CeO2-Y2O3-ZrO2 solid solution, Ceram. Int. 38 (2012) 2087-(2094).

DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2011.10.046

[20] F.C. Fonseca, D.Z. de Florio, V. Esposito, E. Traversa, E.N.S. Muccillo, R. Muccillo, Mixed ionic-electronic YSZ/Ni composite for SOFC anodes with high electrical conductivity, J. Electrochem. Soc. 153 (2006) A345-A360.

DOI: 10.1149/1.2149312