Surface modification of anode substrate via nano-powder slurry spin coating for the thin film electrolyte of solid oxide fuel cell

The feasibility of employing a NiO–yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) nano-powder slurry spin coating (NSC) to fabricate a thin film (≤ 1 μm) electrolyte solid oxide fuel cell (TF-SOFC) on a relatively rough surface of the support is investigated in this study. The NiO–YSZ nano-powder with ~ 200 nm particle size was synthesized by a single-step glycine nitrate process and super-apex milling. Through varying the NiO–YSZ nano-powder slurry condition by changing polymeric additives, a leveled surface of the spin coated layer which enabled to overcome the surface roughness of the bulk ceramic processed anode substrate was obtained. On the NSC layer, TF-SOFC components with flat profiles could be fabricated using pulsed laser deposition. A stable open circuit voltage of 1.04 V was obtained with these thin film components on an anode support with a rough surface.