Low temperature technologies for SOFC

Powder based technologies have been shown to be effective methods for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) fabrication. These technologies are very effective, but they have serious limitations because of the high temperature processing required to sinter the powders which can cause interdiffusion and chemical reactions between the components. The main goal of this research was to investigate methods of lowering the processing temperatures for SOFC preparation. This has resulted in the development of a method of combining the use of powder and polymer technologies to fabricate electrode/electrolyte composites. A composite based on YSZ was used as an example to investigate the efficiency of this approach. It was shown that preparation temperature can be lowered up to 400degreesC and is limited only by the polymer decomposition temperature. It is possible to prepare YSZ layers with high ionic conductivity and controlled porosity (from very porous up to fully dense) using this technique, so composite materials can be effectively used for electrolyte deposition as well as for cathode and anode interlayers to help suppress reactions between SOFC components.