Nanocrystallized yttria-stabilized zirconia for solid oxide fuel cell applications

The development of nanocrystallized yttria-stabilized zirconia as an electrolyte membrane for solid oxide fuel cell application was studied. A wet chemical coating technology, especially the vacuum slip casting process, was used to prepare the electrolyte membrane using two different nanosized starting materials to reduce the sintering temperature of the electrolyte. It was observed that the high shrinkage of the nanosized material of thickness between 5 and 10 μm led to the formation of drying or sintering cracks. The quality of the coatings were found to depend strongly on the calcination temperature of the zirconyl and yttrium nitrate powders used as precursors.