A facile and environment-friendly method to fabricate thin electrolyte films for solid oxide fuel cells

A facile and environment-friendly method, the so-called vertical deposition (abbreviated as VD) method, is used to prepare thin yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) films (≤5 μm) for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The YSZ films are self-assembled by VD process based on capillary force. The influence of experimental conditions (e.g. concentration of YSZ dispersion, deposition times, and sintering procedure) on the morphology of the films produced and thereby on the performance of SOFC devices is investigated. The single cell utilizing a 5 μm dense YSZ film as solid electrolyte achieves a high open circuit voltage of 1.05 V which remains stable at 700 °C for 4 h. The peak power density is 0.4 W cm−2 at 800 °C for the phase inversion anode-supported fuel cell composed of an YSZ electrolyte film of 5 μm thick. The VD method developed herein is promising for preparing ultra-thin electrolyte films for SOFCs.

Research highlights
► Dense YSZ electrolyte with 5 μm thick is prepared.
► Water-based slurry is adopted instead of organic solvent-based slurry usually used.
► YSZ particles arrange in densely packed tapes by capillary force and surface tension.