High-performance solid oxide fuel cells based on a thin La0.8Sr0.2Ga0.8Mg0.2O3−δ electrolyte membrane supported by a nickel-based anode of unique architecture

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) based on a thin La0.8Sr0.2Ga0.8Mg0.2O3−δ (LSGM) electrolyte membrane supported by a nickel-based anode often suffers from undesirable reaction/diffusion between the Ni anode and the LSGM during high-temperature co-firing. In this study, a high performance intermediate-temperature SOFC is fabricated by depositing thin LSGM electrolyte membranes on a LSGM backbone of unique architecture coated with nano-sized Ni and Gd0.1Ce0.9O2−δ (GDC) particles via a combination of freeze-drying tape-casting, slurry drop-coating, and solution infiltration. The thickness of the dense LSGM electrolyte membranes is ∼30 μm while the undesirable reaction/diffusion between Ni and LSGM are effectively hindered because of the relatively low firing temperature, as confirmed by XRD analysis. Single cells show peak power densities of 1.61 W cm−2 at 700 °C and 0.52 W cm−2 at 600 °C using 3 vol% humidified H2 as fuel and ambient air as oxidant. The cell performance is very stable for 115 h at a constant current density of 0.303 A cm−2 at 600 °C.