Fabrication of Samarium Doped Ceria Electrolyte on Rough Glass Substrate with High Electrical Conductivity by Electrostatic Spray Deposition for Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Samarium-doped ceria (SDC) thin films have been fabricated on unetched and etched glass substrates by an electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) technique for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The influence of substrate surface was studied to prepare a dense and crack-free SDC thin film with high electrical conductivity. With a heat treatment temperature of 400 °C, dense and crack-free SDC thin films were obtained on both unetched and etched glass substrates. The SDC films were nanocrystalline with cubic fluorite structure at the heat treatment temperature of 400 °C. The results revealed that the SDC film deposited on the etched glass substrate was smaller in thickness and higher in electrical conductivity than that on the unetched glass substrate. The maximum in electrical conductivity of the SDC film deposited on the etched substrate was approximately 1.34×10-1 S/cm at a low operating temperature of 600 °C.