Solid oxide fuel cell with a spin-coated yttria stabilized zirconia/gadolinia doped ceria bi-layer electrolyte

A thin yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ)/gadolinia doped ceria (GDC) bi-layer membrane is fabricated through the slurry spin coating technique and used as an electrolyte of a solid oxide fuel cell with La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ as the cathode. The viscosity of the YSZ slurry is controlled by adding ethanol in the terpineol solvent, which shows a negligible effect on the thickness but a remarkable influence on the porosity of the YSZ film. The thickness of the YSZ layer increases with the YSZ content in the slurry. The YSZ films are pre-sintered at various temperatures, and the one sintered at 1200 °C has a moderate interaction with the GDC slurry, forming a 10 μm-thick YSZ/GDC bilayer with a low porosity and a low ohmic resistance. The corresponding single cell shows a maximum power density of 1480 mW cm−2 at 750 °C.