Preparation and Characterization of Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95 Electrolyte Films by Spray Coating Process

Abstract

Anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have attracted extensive attention due to low operating temperatures and high electrical performance. In the anodesupported SOFCs, the key is to prepare dense electrolyte films on porous anode substrates. In this study, a simple and cost-effective technique, spray coating process, is introduced to prepare dense electrolyte films. In the spray coating process, the preparation of powder suspension is very important, which affects the quality of resulting electrolyte films. A well-dispersed Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95 (GDC) suspension were prepared in isopropyl alcohol by adding 2 mass% surfactant. Using the well-dispersed GDC suspension, dense and crack-free GDC electrolyte films with thickness of 2-10 µm were successfully prepared on porous NiO-GDC anode substrates by the spray coating process. In order to evaluate the GDC electrolyte film as electrolyte for SOFC, anode-supported SOFC was fabricated and its electrical performance was measured. Results show that the GDC electrolyte film prepared by the spray coating process can be used as electrolyte of SOFC. The GDC electrolyte film is well adhered to the anode substrate, and there is no crack and delamination observed after electrical performance test.