The purpose of this application note is to demonstrate imaging on a tubular fuel cell with the high resolution nanoXCT. The small fragment of the fuel cell was imaged on a nanoXCT in transmission geometry with a Cu 8 kV x-ray source utilizing Zernike Phase Contrast Imaging. Typical spatial resolution obtained on the nanoXCT is sub- 50 nm.
Imaging the Fuel Cell
A small ~20 x 20 x 20 um section of the fuel cell was imaged by Collecting 2D projections of the sample in a ±90° range in 1 degree Intervals. The projections were recorded from the CCD detector in transmission geometry.
The contrast between the porous and solid material in one of these projections is clearly visible In the image below.
180 x-ray projections were taken from -90° to +90° in 1 degree intervals.
These projections were then reconstructed into a 3D volume.
The sample is courtesy of Dr. W. Chiu of the University of Connecticut, Adaptive Materials Inc.
Tubular Fuel Cell – 3D Reconstruction
Figure 2:Sequence of 2D transmission x-ray projection images
Figure 1: Reconstructed 3D volume (with 180 2D projections)
Back to top of page Tubular Fuel Cell – Distribution of Pores and Voids
Distribution of pores and voids in the porous and solid material are important to the performance of the fuel cell. A 3D volume can be obtained on the nanoXCT non-destructively and later utilized for numerical simulation as a feedback mechanism to improve the fuel cell fabrication process and the performance. Conventional analytical tools with similar spatial resolution such as an SEM are mostly sensitive to surface structure. This requires time consuming and destructive polishing of the sample in ~1µm intervals to obtain the same level of information. This destructive sample preparation can also induce changes in the morphology and could introduce “false” defects.