Proton Conducting Micro-Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Nanoscale Palladium Interlayers

Abstract

Thin film fuel cells with proton conducting oxide electrolytes have been fabricated and characterized. A comparison is made between fuel cells with and without Pd interlayers at the electrode-electrolyte interface. A nearly two-fold increase in power density was observed in the performance of a thin film BYZ fuel cell by the addition of a palladium interlayer. The studies contribute to engineering improvements in thin film fuel cells and in the future could be useful to understand proton conduction in complex oxides via nanoscale selective permeation layers.