Engineering of the electrode structure of thin film solid oxide fuel cells

• We fabricated thin film SOFCs on the AAO by sequential sputtering.
• The effects of the anode structures on the cell performance were examined.
• We confirmed that higher porosity in the anode can improve the cell performance.
• Optimizing the anode structure in consideration of the AAO pores is required.

In this study, we systematically examined the effects of anode structures in nanoporous template-based thin film solid oxide fuel cells on the electrochemical performance. The fuel cells were fabricated by sequential sputtering of the anode, the electrolyte and the cathode on an anodic aluminum oxide substrate without pinhole problems. Systematic investigation showed the substantial impacts of the porosity and the thickness of the Pt anodes on the reactivity at the anode/electrolyte interface and the mass transport in the electrode, which are closely related to the activation and the concentration overpotentials of fuel cells, respectively. Our results provide the fundamental insights into tailoring the anode structures for improved fuel cell performance.