ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY OF ANODE SUPPORTED NiO-BCZY|BCZY|LSCF-BCZY BUTTON CELL AT INTERMEDIATE TEMPERATURES

Abstract

In this study, the NiO-BCZY anode, BCZY (BaCe_0.54Zr_0.36Y_0.1O_2.95) electrolyte, and LSCF(La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.2Fe_0.8O_3-δ)-BCZY cathode powder were synthesized using a sol gel technique. NiO-BCZY anode supported button cell was fabricated with some modification on the fabrication processes of electrolyte and cathode layers. Both of the electrolyte and cathode powders were made into slurries and separately spin coated on the anode pellet to form single cell of NiO-BCZY|BCZY|LSCF-BCZY. Electrical measurement of the cell was carried out using an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and its microstructure was observed using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The area specific resistance (ASR) and conductivity (s) of the single cell at operating temperature of 750 ᵒC is 17.78 Ω cm2 and 4.44 x10^-3 S cm-1, respectively. The SEM result shows the electrolyte thin film was well adhered on the anode substrate as no delamination was observed between anode-electrolyte and electrolyte-cathode interface, respectively. The activation energy (Ea) of the cell calculated from the Arrhenius plot was 0.51 eV.