Geometrical characterization of interconnected phase networks in three dimensions

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Computational Modeling

Background:

• Microstructure significantly impacts electrochemical device performance (e.g., fuel cells, batteries).
• Quantitative analysis of microstructural parameters is essential for systematic optimization.
• Existing methods often lack generality or make prior assumptions about structure or application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present general, assumption-free methods for quantitative characterization of network structures.
• To enable detailed comparisons between different samples by extracting parameter distributions.
• To introduce novel characterization metrics like 'dead ends property'.

Main Methods:

• Computation of arrival time maps using the fast marching method.
• Extraction of parameter distributions (tortuosity, path diameters, dead ends, particle size alternative).
• Application to analyze the three phases within a solid oxide fuel cell sample.

Main Results:

• Developed and applied novel methods for quantitative microstructural analysis.
• Characterized tortuosity, path diameters, dead ends, and particle size distributions.
• Demonstrated the utility of these methods on a solid oxide fuel cell.

Conclusions:

• The presented methods offer a general framework for microstructure characterization.
• Distribution-based analysis provides richer insights than single-value descriptions.
• These techniques can advance the optimization of electrochemical devices through detailed microstructural understanding.