IJSRST1841308 | Received:12Feb 2018 | Accepted :27 Feb 2018 | January-February-2018 [(4)2: 1397-1403] © 2018 IJSRST | Volume 4 | Issue 2 | Print ISSN: 2395-6011 | Online ISSN: 2395-602X Themed Section: Scienceand Technology 1397 NiO/YSZ Composite as a Precursor Material to SOFC Anodic Application V. Mohanta, S. Otta and B. K. Roul* Institute of Materials Science, Planetarium Building, Acharya Vihar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India ABSTRACT The conventional solid state reaction route is used to prepare ceramic composite from commercially available high-purity NiO (Aldrich, 99.99%) and YSZ (Aldrich, 99.9%) powders. Composites were characterized using X- ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) techniques. The NiO/YSZ composites were found to be in crystalline form with homogeneous mixture of YSZ and NiO phases. Impedance measurements and analysis were performed over a frequency range 1 kHz to 2 MHz at different temperatures. Conductivity in various temperature and different nickel contents were also studied which established the fact that the development of NiO/YSZ composite showed remarkable anodic properties which are highly suitable to be used as a precursor material for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Keywords: Solid state reaction route, NiO/YSZ composite, electrical properties, SOFC I. INTRODUCTION Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are solid-state electrochemical devices that convert chemical energy in fuels (H2 and Hydrocarbons etc) directly into electrical energy with high efficiency [1]. Now a day, SOFCs have received more attention due to not only its high conversion efficiency but also high flexibility to various fuels (H2, CH4, etc) and low pollution emission [2]. In general, SOFCs consist of three main parts: a dense electrolyte between two porous electrodes (anode and cathode). Ni doped yttria stabilized zirconia (Ni/YSZ) is the most widely used anode material for SOFCs due to its high catalytic activity of H2 oxidation, high mechanical/chemical stability at high temperature, long term reliability, low cost and their compatibility with most electrolytes and interconnect materials [3]. The electrochemical reaction inside the anode is supposed to occur around the triple-phase boundary (TPB) where the fuel gas, Ni and YSZ phase meet [4]. The presence of Ni serves as an excellent catalyst for the electrochemical oxidation of hydrogen whereas the YSZ provides necessary framework for the dispersion of Ni particles as well as offers ionic contribution to the overall conductivity, which broadens the TPB [5]. Since polarization resistance of Ni/YSZ is strongly influenced by its TPB [6], a reduction of polarization resistance of the anode may be attributed to a longer TPB, which enhances the electrochemical reaction [7]. Moreover, polarization resistance of the anode depends on both Ni content and its micro structure [7]. So, to have a potential anode for SOFC applications a finer micro structure along with uniform distribution of Ni, YSZ and pores in the anode is essential [8], which yields an improved electrochemical performance. In this research work, NiO/YSZ composite was prepared by conventional solid state reaction route. Appropriate amount of zinc was used here as pore former. The composites were sintered at 1350 0 C for 5 hours. The aim of the present paper is to look into anodic behaviour along with mechanism involved in our sample. We investigated the effect of both Ni