Nanostructured Composite Anode with Gas Channels

The patent employs a porous anode structure with controlled porosity (30-60%) that allows for better gas distribution and reduces nickel particle aggregation. The porous morphology provides more dispersion space for nickel particles, preventing their aggregation even at high temperatures, thereby maintaining low anode resistance and extending anode lifetime.

The patent uses composite anode materials combining nickel with other metals (such as copper, silver, or their alloys) to create a multi-component system. This composite structure prevents pure nickel aggregation by providing alternative pathways for electrochemical reactions and stabilizing the microstructure at high temperatures, thus controlling anode resistance and improving reliability.

The patent applies local quality by creating functionally graded anode structures where different regions have different compositions and microstructures optimized for specific functions. The anode includes a support layer, a transition layer with intermediate porosity and composition, and a functional layer with optimized nickel content and pore structure. This gradient structure enables the anode to maintain high electrochemical activity at reduced temperatures by locally optimizing reaction sites while controlling overall polarization resistance.

The patent transitions from traditional planar anode structures to three-dimensional porous architectures with controlled pore size distributions and tortuosity. This dimensional change creates extensive triple-phase boundaries (TPB) where nickel, electrolyte, and gas phase intersect, significantly increasing active reaction sites. The 3D porous structure compensates for reduced thermal energy at 600°C by providing more reaction pathways, thereby maintaining electrochemical activity while enabling lower operating temperatures.

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-synthesizing nanostructured powder materials with controlled morphology and composition before the plasma spray process. The precursor powders are prepared with specific particle size distributions, pore structures, and phase compositions that will form the desired nanostructured anode with gas channels after spraying and sintering. This pre-preparation ensures that the fast plasma spray process can directly deposit the nanostructure without requiring slow in-situ formation, thus achieving both high productivity and precise nanostructure control.

The patent utilizes parameter changes by systematically optimizing plasma spray parameters (such as powder feed rate, spray distance, substrate temperature, plasma gas composition, and scan speed) to control the deposition and sintering processes. By adjusting these parameters, the method achieves formation of nanostructured anodes with controlled pore sizes, distributions, and gas channel architectures during the high-speed spraying process, rather than requiring post-processing to create the nanostructure.