Fabrication and Characterization of Anode-Supported Tubular SOFCs with Zirconia-Based Electrolyte for Reduced Temperature Operation

Abstract

An anode-supported tubular solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with a thin electrolyte film for reduced temperature operation was fabricated by a wet cofire process. Instead of the traditional extrusion method, the anode substrate was formed by a tape-cast method. This allows design the substrate with some advantageous configurations that can improve the performance of SOFCs. and -stabilized zirconia electrolyte films were fabricated on the substrate by a modified slurry dip-coating method and then cofired. In order to use cathode, a thin interlayer was also fabricated by the slurry dip-coating method. The fabricated tubular cell generated electricity successfully between 600 and 850°C. Power density of ca. 170 and was achieved at 600 and 700°C, respectively, however, the ohmic resistance was larger than expected. Because interlayer was used, ohmic resistance could be high due to the formation of a layer of solid solution at the zirconia/ceria interface. The gaseous diffusion resistance governed the performance between 700 and 850°C. Better performances of the anode-supported tubular SOFCs can be achieved by further optimizations for the zirconia/ceria interface, control of both porosity and thickness of the anode substrate, as well as improvement of the cathode. © 2004 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.