Development of Thin-Electrolyte Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

摘要

Cells with thin YSZ electrolyte supported by the anode, with LSM cathode and Ni-YSZ anode are fabricated by standard ceramic processing. Anode supports (AS) are produced by tape casting. An active anode layer and an electrolyte are added by slurry spraying. The half-cell is sintered by co-firing. Cathodes are fabricated by slurry spraying. Various pore formers are used in conjunction with different particle size distributions of YSZ to open the structure of the AS allowing for smooth gas diffusion. Different sintering additives have been used either alone or in combination to match the sintering of the AS with the sintering of the electrolyte. The effect of using different types of nickel oxide is also evaluated. The use of MnO_2 as sintering additive resulted in shortening of cell life under extreme conditions due to de-lamination of the cells. Selected cells are tested using humidified hydrogen as fuel. Results with an ASR of about 0.35Ωm~2 at 850°C have been obtained. A sketch of the future plans for improving the cell performance is presented.