Visualization of the structural transformation of NiO/YSZ/BZY nanocomposite particles using in situ gas environmental transmission electron microscopy

Abstract

This study focused on investigation the dynamic structural transformations of spherical NiO/YSZ/BZY triple-phase nanocomposite particles, commonly employed for cermet anodes, during the hydrogen reduction reaction. We utilized both spherical aberration...

Unveiling Key Interface Characteristics of Ni/Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Solid Oxide Cell Electrodes in H2O Electroreduction Using Operando X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

“…Among them, microscopy and surface-sensitive spectroscopy are particularly insightful, as they have the capability to reveal fine details of the electrodes at the nanometer scale. Environmental transmission electron and scanning probe microscopies (TEM and SPM respectively) have enabled in situ detailed investigations of the reduction and reoxidation of Ni/YSZ electrodes under few mbar of reactive gas atmospheres. − However, with only few exceptions, , it turns out to be very challenging to perform microscopy experiments with samples under electrical polarization . On the contrary, several studies exist examining the surface state of solid oxide cell electrodes under operational electrochemical conditions using near ambient pressure photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS). , Among them, the number of operando NAP-XPS studies focusing on Ni/YSZ electrodes show an inverse relationship with the widespread utilization of this electrode in practical applications. − Furthermore, conducting NAP-XPS experiments using higher energy photons (ranging between 2 and 10 keV), known as hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (HAXPES), presents the opportunity to significantly enhance the analysis depth of the technique. − This enables investigations of samples under considerably higher gas pressure or exploration of buried liquid/solid interfaces.…”