Characteristics of New Nickel Porous Alloy for Cathode Current Collector in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Ni-Sn porous alloys with different concentrations of Sn were prepared as potential current collectors in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The weight increase of these species was evaluated after heat-treatment under elevated temperatures in air for thousands of hours to evaluate the long-term oxidation resistance. For the porous metal with 10 wt% of Sn, the electrical resistivity at 600 degrees C was almost constant at approximately 0.02 Omega cm(2) up to an elapsed time of 1000 h. In addition, the gas diffusibility and the current-collecting ability of the porous metal were equivalent to those of a platinum mesh when applied in the cathode current collector of a SOFC operated at 600 degrees C. Ni-Sn porous alloys with adequate contents of Sn are believed to be promising cathode current collector materials in SOFCs for operation at temperatures below 600 degrees C.