Powder morphology of Ni/YSZ core-shell according to the plating conditions of using the electroless plating method

In this study, Ni-YSZ anode catalysts with a core-shell structure were synthesized by an electroless nickel plating method for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). We investigated the microstructure and composition of the Ni-YSZ powder that were synthesized according to the plating conditions, which were the pretreatment cycles, temperature and time. The surface of the synthesized Ni-YSZ powders was homogenously plated with Ni particles and the powders had a core-shell structure. The catalyst nuclei of Sn and Pd were uniformly distributed on the surface of YSZ powders fabricated by the pretreatment of three cycles. As the plating time and temperature increased, the nickel particles increased and the plating layer was dense. However, when the plating temperature was over 90 °C, the decomposition of the solution occurred. Therefore, the plating conditions were adjusted to control the shape of the Ni-YSZ core-shell powder. Finally, the Ni-YSZ particles with a size of 0.5 μm and a core-shell structure were fabricated at 80 °C for 10 minutes.