Micro-solid oxide fuel cell supported on a porous metallic Ni/stainless-steel bi-layer

Metallic bi-layer of porous Ni and porous stainless steel (STS) is utilized as a support for micro-solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) using a thin-film layer of electrolyte. Tape-casting and screen-printing processes are employed to fabricate a thick (∼250 μm) STS-layer covered with a thin (∼20 μm) nano-porous Ni layer. Successful deposition of a nearly pore-free electrolyte layer by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method is demonstrated by the high open-circuit-voltage (OCV) value of a single cell. The Ohmic resistance of the micro-SOFC deposited on a porous Ni/STS-support is stable and it shows ∼28 mW cm−2 after operation for ∼112 h at 450 °C. The use of a porous Ni/STS bi-layer as a support for micro-SOFCs is successfully demonstrated.