Performance Enhancement of Freestanding Micro-SOFCs with Ceramic Electrodes by the Insertion of a YSZ-Ag Inter layer

Abstract

We previously demonstrated a freestanding micro solid oxide fuel cell where both the NiO-YSZ anode and the lanthanum strontium manganite (LSM)-YSZ cathode are deposited by the electrostatic spray deposition technique. In this report, a dramatic performance enhancement (41.3 -> 673 mWcm(-2) at 640 degrees C) is demonstrated by the insertion of a multi-layered YSZ-Ag thin film between the cathode and electrolyte without sacrificing the thermo-mechanical stability of the freestanding cell. The interlayer is found not only to reduce the Ohmic resistance, but also to improve the cathode performance by having the metallic Ag diffused into the cathode layer. (C) 2014 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.