Fabrication and characterization of Cu/YSZ cermet high temperature electrolysis cathode material prepared by high-energy ball-milling method

Abstract

Abstract Cu/YSZ cermet (40 and 60 vol.% Cu powder with balance YSZ) is a more economical cathode material than the conventional Ni/YSZ cermet for high temperature electrolysis (HTE) of water vapor and it was successfully fabricated by high-energy ball-milling of Cu and YSZ powders, pressing into pellets (∅ 13 mm × 2 mm) and subsequent sintering process at 700 °C under flowing 5%-H2/Ar gas. The Cu/YSZ composite material thus fabricated was characterized using various analytical tools such as XRD, SEM, and laser diffraction and scattering method. Electrical conductivity of sintered Cu/YSZ cermet pellets thus fabricated was measured by using 4-probe technique for comparison with that of conventional Ni/YSZ cermets. The effect of composite composition on the electrical conductivity was investigated and a marked increase in electrical conductivity for copper contents greater than 40 vol.% in the composite was explained by percolation threshold. Also, Cu/YSZ cermet was selected as a candidate for HTE cathode of self-supporting planar unit cell and its electrochemical performance was investigated, paving the way for preliminary correlation of high-energy ball-milling parameters with observed physical and electrochemical performance of Cu/YSZ cermets.