Synthesis and characterization of spray deposited PdO-NiO-SDC composite anode material for potential application in IT-SOFC

The synthesis of mixed conducting PdO-NiO-SDC composite films has been reported for the first time by a simple and cost effective spray pyrolysis technique. The films were deposited at low substrate and annealing temperatures of 350 °C and 500 °C, respectively. The structure, morphology and electrical properties of the films were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and impedance spectroscopy (IS). The substrate and annealing temperatures were optimized for obtaining nano-crystalline, porous, adherent and composite films with PdO, NiO and SDC phases. Films showed good microstructure with sufficient porosity and good connectivity of the deposited material. Crystallite size of the deposited material was found to be in the range of 7-9 nm. The deposited film showed high oxygen ion conductivity, 3.94 × 10⁻¹ S cm⁻¹ at 350 °C. Due to their nano-crystalline, porous and composite nature the spray deposited PdO-NiO-SDC films may have high three phase boundary area and hence can be considered as an anode for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells.