Fabrication of bilayered YSZ/SDC electrolyte film by electrophoretic deposition for reduced-temperature operating anode-supported SOFC

Bilayered Y2O3-stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ)/Sm2O3-doped CeO2 (SDC) electrolyte films were successfully fabricated on porous NiO–YSZ composite substrates by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) based on electrophoretic filtration followed by co-firing with the substrates. In EPD, positively charged YSZ and SDC powders were deposited directly on the substrates, layer by layer from ethanol-based suspensions. Delamination between YSZ and SDC films was avoided by reducing the SDC films’ thickness to ca. 1 μm. A single cell was constructed on the bilayered electrolyte films composed of ca. 4 μm-thick YSZ and ca. 1 μm-thick SDC films. As a cathode in the cell, La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−x (LSCF) was used. Maximum output power densities greater than 0.6 W cm−2 were obtained at 700 °C for the bilayered YSZ/SDC electrolyte cells thus constructed.