Realizing anode-substrate–electrolyte sintering shrinkage compatibility in the fabrication of planar solid oxide fuel cells

Sintering mismatch between anodes and electrolytes induces interfacial delamination, curling and cracking in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), impairing manufacturability and preliminary operational durability. Herein, anode-supported SOFCs are optimized by adjusting calcination temperatures of solid–liquid synthesized 3YSZ powders. A stable monoclinic–tetragonal biphasic structure is verified, where the tetragonal phase fraction rises with temperature. Average particle size increases from 30 nm (700 °C) to 150 nm (1100 °C) with evident agglomeration and sintering neck formation. The anode using 800 °C-calcined powder achieves 20.45% shrinkage well matched with 8YSZ electrolyte, and alleviates interfacial stress. It delivers 11.69% porosity and a high flexural strength of 246 MPa. The single cell reaches peak power densities of 0.656 W cm −2 at 850 °C and 0.465 W cm −2 at 750 °C. No obvious resistance growth or microstructural degradation occurs after 100 h operation. This strategy regulates sintering kinetics to resolve interlayer mismatch defects in SOFC fabrication.