Structure of the Equilibrated Ni(111)-YSZ(111) Solid-Solid Interface

Solid-state dewetting of continuous Ni films deposited on the (111) surface of yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) was used to produce equilibrated Ni particles, and the solid-solid interface structure was determined using aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. The ∼150 nm thick Ni films were annealed at 1350°C in Ar + H2 (99.9999%) at a partial pressure of oxygen of 10-20 atm for 6 h. Transmission electron microscopy of equilibrated particles, which was conducted to analyze the structure at the interface, revealed that despite the 31% lattice mismatch between Ni and YSZ, the interface is semicoherent and a two-dimensional network of misfit dislocations was identified.