Fabrication characteristics of an anode-supported thin-film electrolyte fabricated by the tape casting method for IT-SOFC

An anode-supported yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte was fabricated using tape casting and co-sintering techniques for use in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). Nickel/YSZ, lanthanum strontium manganite (La0.85Sr0.15MnO3) and 8 mol% Y2O3–ZrO2 were used for the anode, the cathode and the electrolyte, respectively. The anode-supported electrolyte was prepared with a tape casting technique followed by hot pressing lamination. Co-sintering between the anode and the electrolyte was applied at 1350 °C under pressurized conditions to fabricate the anode-supported electrolyte of the unit cell. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the crack-free and dense structure of the electrolyte in the unit cell. The open circuit voltage (OCV) of the unit cell was 1.08 V at 750 °C, indicating negligible leakage of fuel through the electrolyte layer. The active layer was applied to the interface between the anode and the electrolyte layer to increase the three-phase boundary, the electrochemical reaction site of the anode. The unit cell having an active layer exhibits good performance due to the drastic reduction of polarization resistance.