Dip-coating thin yttria-stabilized zirconia films for solid oxide fuel cell applications

The preparation of high-quality yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte films on porous substrates is critical to the fabrication of high-performance solid-state ionic devices such as solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and gas sensors. In this paper, stable, fully dispersed YSZ suspensions were prepared. Particles zeta-potential and relative viscosity of suspensions were investigated. Thin YSZ films were deposited on NiO–YSZ anode supports with the YSZ suspensions and then heated to 1400 °C in air. Dense and crack-free films were obtained with thickness in the range of 20–30 μm. La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 (LSM) paste was printed on the YSZ electrolyte/anode to assemble single fuel cell and tested in the temperature range of 650–800 °C. The open circuit voltage (OCV) of the cells reached 0.98 V and maximum power density 190 mW/cm2 at 800 °C, showing a reasonable performance. The deposited thin films could be considered for electrolyte application in intermediate temperature SOFCs.