Fabrication and Performance of Thin-Film YSZ Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

A new technique for the fabrication of dense yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin-film electrolytes (between 3 and 10 μm) on porous electrode substrates has been used to make planar solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The YSZ electrolyte is strongly bonded to the Ni-YSZ and (LSM)-YSZ electrode substrates, and the power density of a Ni-YSZ/YSZ/LSM-YSZ cell is over 0.8 W/cm 2 at 800°C. Initial investigations of doped YSZ mixed-conducting electrodes in our thin-film YSZ cells indicate that Tb- and Ti-doped YSZs enhance cell power densities from 15 to 50% at 800°C. New anodes for the dry oxidation of methane have also been investigated. Initial results show that the -based anodes are stable in hydrocarbon fuels, and that the principle anodic reaction is a direct, electrocatalytic oxidation of the hydrocarbon fuel.