The role of lamination conditions on electrochemical and mechanical performance of ceramic electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells

The effects of the lamination pressure, temperature and duration on the mechanical, the electrochemical, the microstructural and the dimensional properties of the tape cast yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte are experimentally investigated. The mechanical performance of the electrolyte is measured via tensile tests while the electrochemical performance is obtained by measuring the performance of the electrolyte supported cells fabricated in this study. The microstructural properties of the electrolytes laminated under different conditions, on the other hand, are evaluated via a scanning electron microscope. The dimensional change of the electrolytes depending on the lamination conditions after the sintering process at 1450 °C for 5 h is also considered in the study. The results show that YSZ electrolyte with high mechanical and electrochemical performance can be fabricated by low cost tape casting and isostatic pressing techniques after a careful decision of the lamination conditions. Within the parameter ranges considered, the optimum lamination pressure and temperature is decided to be 50 MPa and 60 °C, respectively, whereas the optimum lamination duration is found to be 10 min according to the experimental investigations.