Electrochemical performance of gadolinia-doped ceria (CGO) electrolyte thin films for ITSOFC deposited by spray pyrolysis

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell is an attractive, efficient, alternative source of power generation. However several challenges remained for this technology to be viable. These challenges include high power density, degradation rate, and cost. One way to decrease the SOFC cost is to use stainless steel interconnector. To be able to use a stainless steel interconnector one of the challenges is to find a way to produce an electrolyte, which does not need sintering at high temperature. This work presents the results of the process applied to gadolinia-doped ceria thin films deposited in cycles by spray pyrolysis. The aim of this work was to obtain thin, dense, and continuous CGO coatings, which has electrochemical performance suitable to be used as electrolyte for SOFC. The results obtained show that the air flow rate influenced the droplets size and hence the film quality. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the films were crystalline after the deposition. Electrochemical tests showed maximum power density of 510 mW cm−2 at 650 °C with a thickness average of 3.30 μm when the film was deposited in 12 cycles showing that the film has a potential to be used as an electrolyte for ITSOFC on metal support.