Composite electrodes extend the electrochemically active region for solid oxide fuel cells. The complex microstructural and chemical composition of composite cathodes often make them difficult to fully characterize. The discrimination between the two oxide phases of the composite cathode as well as between them and the pore phase has been achieved using epoxy impregnation. The active regions of composite cathodes were analyzed at various length scales using focused ion beam/scanning electron microscope (FIB/SEM) and transmission electron microscope techniques. Dual beam FIB/SEM three‐dimensional (3D) reconstructions provided information of various microstructural parameters. Over 5900 nodes were evaluated in these complex 3D networks. Topological connectivity of the composite LCM/ScSZ system was evaluated with the average connectivity ranging between 2.69 and 2.94 for the various phases. Topological length of the composite cathode network ranged between 1.5 and 2.7 μm, with average composite cathode particle sizes between 1 to 4  μm. Such connectivity quantification provides the opportunity for an advanced understanding of the transport processes in composite materials.

A relationship between the electrical activation of Si in ion-implanted In0.53Ga0.47As and material microstructure after ion implantation is demonstrated. By altering specimen temperature during ion implantation to control material microstructure, it is advanced that increasing sub-amorphizing damage (point defects) from Si+ implantation results in enhanced electrical activation of Si in In0.53Ga0.47As by providing a greater number of possible sites for substitutional incorporation of Si into the crystal lattice upon subsequent annealing.

Composite cathodes extend the electrochemically active region for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The complex microstructural and chemical composition of composite cathodes often make them difficult to fully characterize. The active regions of composite cathodes were analyzed at various length scales using Focused Ion Beam/Scanning Electron Microscope (FIB/SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) techniques, to verify the effect of calcium doping on microstructure and interfacial stability. Dual beam FIB/SEM three-dimensional (3-D) reconstructions provided micron-level information on porosity, surface area and tortuosity while the TEM provided nanometer-level two-dimensional (2-D) chemical characterization of the interface between the cathode and electrolyte. These characterization techniques were applied on two different calcium doped lanthanum manganite (LCM)-scandium stabilized zirconia (SCZ) composite cathodes.

Anode supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with various NiO content in the anode function layer (AFL) were fabricated and investigated. For AFLs with lower NiO content, the observed open circuit potential was higher. However, the highest maximum power density of 1.15 W/cm2 at 650 °C was achieved at 60 wt% of NiO in the AFL, which is a 1:1 volume ratio of Ni to GDC phase. The optimal composition was valid in the intermediate temperature range from 450 to 650 °C. The effect of the optimal composition on power density was retained for 200 hours with high power density of 1.1 W/cm2. Electrochemical impedance tests supported this result by showing the lowest electrode area specific resistance at 60 wt% NiO, which has a linear relationship with maximum power density.

Despite recent advances in characterization technology, there are still limitations in accuracy and throughput potential when characterizing textural relationships and diagenetic history of thin-bedded and lithic, clay-rich, and/or feldspar-rich reservoirs. These characteristics have large impacts on accurately assessing porosity and permeability profiles for upscaling into reservoir models. Several different methods, including scanning electron microscopy (QEMSCAN), mercury injection capillary pressure, and laser grain-size analysis are routinely used to quantify grain size, porosity, and mineralogy on thin-sections; however, each of these methods is associated with drawbacks on accuracy, time or both. One of those modalities alone is not adequate to describe most rock types. However, the continuous increases in computing power and the more common availability of advanced imaging technology and processing software has provided the opportunity for more accurate and statistically robust extraction of geological parameters from rock sample material. This presentation aims to show how fusing textural and mineralogical information derived from back-scattered electron (BSE), cathodolumenesce (CL) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) improves rock characterization by obtaining measurements of grain size, shape, roundness, and composition in order to understand the diagenetic history Using the BSE image, grains can easily be distinguished from pore space and organics at nanometer resolutions. Some minerals, such as a pyrite, can be easily identified from a silicate or carbonate matrix due to the relationship of BSE intensity with atomic number. However, many minerals have a substantially different chemistry but indistinguishable BSE singles due to similar mean atomic numbers. One example is to compare quartz (SiO 2 ) to albite (NaAlSi 3 O 8 ), which have mean atomic numbers of 10 and 10.03 respectively. The BSE image alone can provide a statistical approximation of grain size distribution, shape statistics, and roundness measurements. Automation of those measurements is possible, but many methods are not robust. Grain boundaries are often visible, but automated grain separation may be deterred by numerous internal grain fractures or bad approximations on non-spherical grains when using a chamfer-distance map and watershed separation algorithm. Despite these limitations, the wealth of data extracted from BSE images provides the contextual backdrop for the workflow provided in this presentation.The CL image also has a resolution on the order of nanometers, but is more sensitive to chemistry and microstructure of the grains as the signal is recorded against the luminescence of the material caused by the bombarding electrons. The CL image specifically allows investigation of grain overgrowth which may be of the same material, a solid-solution with a different material, or a completely different material than the respective grain. Separation of the grain with the overgrowth and cement allows for better insight into the ...