Fabrication and characterization of Ba(Zr0.84Y0.15Cu0.01)O3−δ electrolyte-based protonic ceramic fuel cells

Protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs) were successfully fabricated by using 15 mol% Y-doped BaZrO3-based electrolytes that have fairly good electrical conductivity and chemical stability. In order to overcome the poor sinterability of the BaZrO3-based electrolytes, which is a critical limitation in making a thin-film electrolyte for electrode-supported PCFCs, we utilized sintering aid-assisted enhanced sintering by adding 1 mol% of CuO, thereby reducing the sintering temperature of the constrained thin electrolyte on a rigid electrode substrate to below 1500 °C. From the process optimization of the thin BZYCu coating on the NiO–BZYCu anode substrate, we fabricated a 10-μm-thick thin and dense electrolyte layer that exhibited an open-circuit voltage (OCV) close to that of the theoretical OCV of 0.98 V. However, improving the electrochemical performance by optimizing the electrode microstructure, especially in terms of the electrochemical activity of the anode and the current-collecting efficiency of the cathode, is the major concern of forthcoming study.