Fabrication and characterization of metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells

Metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are an acceptable approach to solving the serious problems of SOFC technology, such as sealing and mechanical strength. In this work, commercial stainless-steel plates, STS430, are used as supporting bodies for a metal-supported SOFC in order to decrease the number of fabrication steps. The metal support for a single-cell has a diameter of 28 mm, a thickness of 1 mm, and a channel width of 0.4 mm. A thin ceramic layer, composed of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and NiO/YSZ, is attached to the metal support by using a cermet adhesive. La0.8Sr0.2Co0.4Mn0.6O3 perovskite oxide serves as the cathode material because of its low impedance on the YSZ electrolyte, according to half-cell tests. The maximum power density of the cell is 0.09 W cm(-2) at 800 degrees C. The effects of temperature, oxygen partial pressure, and current collection by pastes are investigated. The oxygen reduction reaction at the cathode dominates the overall cell performance, according to experimental and numerical analyses. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.