Infiltrated thin film structure with hydrogel-mediated precursor ink for durable SOFCs

Seo Ju Kim,Baekhoon Seong,Jongseo Lee,Giho Kang,Doyoung Byun,Wonyoung Lee,Mingi Choi,Hyungdong Lee,Sangyeon Hwang

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-86572-w

Abstract

The hydrogel of biomolecule-assisted metal/organic complex has the superior ability to form a uniform, continuous, and densely integrated structure, which is necessary for fine thin film fabrication. As a representative of nature-originated polymers with abundant reactive side chains, we select the gelatin molecule as an element for weaving the metal cations. Here, we demonstrate the interaction between the metal cation and gelatin molecules, and associate it with coating quality. We investigate the rheological property of gelatin solutions interacting with metal cation from the view of cross-linking and denaturing of gelatin molecules. Also, we quantitatively compare the corresponding interactions by monitoring the absorbance spectrum of the cation. The coated porous structure is systematically investigated from the infiltration of gelatin-mediated Gd0.2Ce0.8O2−δ (GDC) precursor into Sm0.5Sr0.5CoO3−δ (SSC) porous scaffold. By applying the actively interacting gelatin–GDC system, we achieve a thin film of GDC on SSC with excellent uniformity. Compare to the discrete coating from the typical infiltration process, the optimized thin film coated structure shows enhanced performance and stability.

Highlights

The hydrogel of biomolecule-assisted metal/organic complex has the superior ability to form a uniform, continuous, and densely integrated structure, which is necessary for fine thin film fabrication
The ability to interact with other materials and their inherent self-assembling characteristics enable the versatile design of complex states[7]
Due to its superior properties, gelatin has been employed as a base material for bio-applications and binding material for the synthesis of inorganic compounds

Summary

Introduction

The hydrogel of biomolecule-assisted metal/organic complex has the superior ability to form a uniform, continuous, and densely integrated structure, which is necessary for fine thin film fabrication. Biomolecules have received attention as functional materials for various applications, because of their sustainability and unique properties, in comparison with fossil fuel-derived materials Since they have more variety in constituent elements than hydrocarbon molecules, various interactions between biomolecules and inorganics can be utilized to compose complex structure. The pure metal oxide nano-structures without organic or carbon residues that were started from a gelatin-mediated complex system have never been reported Nanostructured oxides, such as thin film, are becoming important in diverse fields of engineering from the view. The interaction between organic molecules and cations was monitored and compared by measurement of the viscosity and absorbance of each solution Both mechanical and optical properties were significantly affected by the ratio between gelatin and GDC precursor, while the corresponding mixtures of glycine and GDC precursor had slight differences. We expect that our results can provide a sustainable and effective solution-based coating method for the universal synthesis of nanostructured metallic compounds

Methods

Conclusion