Prontonic ceramic membrane fuel cells with layered GdBaCo2O5+x cathode prepared by gel-casting and suspension spray

In order to develop a simple and cost-effective route to fabricate protonic ceramic membrane fuel cells (PCMFCs) with layered GdBaCo2O5+x (GBCO) cathode, a dense BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.2O3−δ (BZCY7) electrolyte was fabricated on a porous anode by gel-casting and suspension spray. The porous NiO–BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.2O3−δ (NiO–BZCY7) anode was directly prepared from metal oxide (NiO, BaCO3, ZrO2, CeO2 and Y2O3) by a simple gel-casting process. A suspension of BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.2O3−δ powders synthesized by gel-casting was then employed to deposit BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.2O3−δ (BZCY7) thin layer by pressurized spray process on NiO–BZCY7 anode. The bi-layer with 10 μm dense BZCY7 electrolyte was obtained by co-sintering at 1400 °C for 5 h. With layered GBCO cathode synthesized by gel-casting on the bi-layer, single cells were assembled and tested with H2 as fuel and the static air as oxidant. An open-circuit potential of 0.98 V, a maximum power density of 266 mW cm−2, and a low polarization resistance of the electrodes of 0.16 Ω cm2 was achieved at 700 °C.