This paper reports a micromachined chemical sensor intended for harsh environments such as those near hydrothermal vents at the sea floor. The sensor is intended to measure the pH, dissolved H2 and H2S, and temperature. The device is 12 mm in diameter and 6 mm in effective length, including packaging. A YSZ|HgO|Hg solid electrode is used as a common electrode for measurement of the three chemic...

A method is described for quantitatively analyzing the level of interconnectivity of solid-oxide fuel cell electrode phases. The method was applied to the three-dimensional microstructure of a Ni-Y2O3-stabilized ZrO2 (Ni-YSZ) anode active layer measured by focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy. Each individual contiguous network of Ni, YSZ, and porosity was identified and labeled accord...

Following exposure to ppm-level hydrogen sulfide at elevated temperatures, a section of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) Ni-YSZ anode was examined using a combination of synchrotron-based x-ray nanotomography and x-ray fluorescence techniques. While fluorescence measurements provided elemental identification and coarse spatial mapping, x-ray nanotomography was used to map the detailed 3-D spatial...

This paper presents the application of the Taguchi experimental design in developing nanostructured yittria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) coatings by plasma spraying process. This paper depicts dependence of adhesion strength of as-sprayed nanostructured YSZ coatings on various process parameters, and effect of those process parameters on performance output has been studied using Taguchi's L16 orth...

The Yttria stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) is a standard electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), which are potential candidates for next generation portable and mobile power sources. YSZ electrolyte thin films having a cubic single phase allow reducing the SOFC operating temperature without diminishing the electrochemical power density. Films of 8 mol% Yttria stabilized Zirconia (8YSZ) and fi...

A new process for fabricating NiO exchange bias layers has been developed. The process involves the direct ion beam sputtering (IBS) of a NiO target. The process is simpler than other deposition techniques for producing NiO buffer layers, and facilitates the deposition of an entire spin-valve layered structure using IBS without breaking vacuum. The layer thickness and temperature dependence of ...

The topographic and magnetic structures of patterned 20-nm-thick Fe films grown on Si (001), polycrystalline NiO, and SiO2 substrates are compared by scanning tunneling microscopy/magnetic force microscopy measurements under ultrahigh vacuum conditions to investigate the influence of the different substrates. Iron grows as a polycrystalline film. The size of the crystallites decreases from Si t...

Polypyrrole (PPy) encapsulated 3D flower-like NiO was prepared to investigate the role of PPy coating for high-performance electrodes. NiO@PPy showed a better electrochemical performance than pure NiO, and a "trade-off effect" between electrical conductivity and ion diffusion resistance was observed with different PPy coating thickness.

Strain confinement in heterostructured films significantly affects ionic conductivity of the electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells based on a multi-layered design strategy. Nearly ideal tensile strain can be achieved by a dedicated manipulation of the lattice mismatch between adjacent layers and fine control of the layer thicknesses to minimize the formation of dislocations and thus to achiev...