In Situ Diffraction Approaches to Characterisation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Electrodes

Solid oxide fuel cells offer an excellent solution to current challenges in energy generation. The electrodes are the key functional components and understanding the phase evolution, reactivity and stability under operating conditions is essential if these devices are to be commercially viable products. Diffraction techniques are powerful tools that provide detailed characterisation of the materials central to device development. In-situ measurements are vital in mimicking the operating conditions of cells and in aiding our understanding of the key mechanisms of device degradation and reactivity. Several aspects of the use of in-situ techniques will be outlined in this chapter, focusing on powder diffraction techniques.