Agglomeration behavior of nickel particles on YSZ electrolyte

Agglomeration behavior of nickel particles on yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ), NiO doped YSZ and TiO2 doped YSZ substrates was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) as two dimensional (2D) analysis and scanning probe microscopy (SPM) as three‐dimensional (3D) analysis. For 2D analysis, binarized SEM image was analyzed to examine the agglomeration factor. In 3D analysis, wettability analyzing method was adopted for solid particle on solid substrate, and “apparent” contact angle was evaluated by the following equation;θ=2tan−12h/dwhere d and h are the observed particle diameter and the observed particle height of each agglomerated particle obtained by SPM analysis. Results from both analysis techniques revealed that NiO doped YSZ tend to enhance the nickel agglomeration, whereas TiO2 doped YSZ shows better wettability especially for larger nickel particles. ► Nickel agglomeration on YSZ electrolyte is experimentally examined by SEM and by SPM. ► The 3D analysis can demonstrate the nickel particle size effect on the agglomeration. ► Nickel agglomeration behavior is influenced by dopant metal oxides of YSZ. ► Nickel agglomeration was enhanced in the following order; Ti-8YSZ