Suspension chemistry and electrophoretic deposition of zirconia electrolyte on conducting and non-conducting substrates

• Stable suspension of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) obtained in isopropanol medium.
• Suspension chemistry and process parameters for electrophoretic deposition optimized.
• Deposited film quality changed with iodine and water (dispersants) concentration.
• Dense YSZ film (∼5 μm) fabricated onto non-conducting porous NiO-YSZ anode substrate.

Suspensions of 8 mol% yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) particulates in isopropanol medium are prepared using acetylacetone, iodine and water as dispersants. The effect of dispersants concentration on suspension stability, particle size distribution, electrical conductivity and pH of the suspensions are studied in detail to optimize the suspension chemistry. Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) has been conducted to produce thin and dense YSZ electrolyte films. Deposition kinetics have been studied in depth and good quality films on conducting substrate are obtained at an applied voltage of 15 V for 3 min. YSZ films are also fabricated on non-conducting NiO-YSZ anode substrate using a steel plate on the reverse side of the substrate. Upon co-firing at 1400 °C for 6 h a dense YSZ film of thickness ∼5 μm is obtained. Such a half cell (anode + electrolyte) can be used to fabricate a solid oxide fuel cell on applying a suitable cathode layer.

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