In situ fabrication mechanism of a dense Sr and Ca doped lanthanum chromite interconnect on Ni-YSZ anode of a solid oxide fuel cell during co-sintering

In this study fabrication mechanism of a dense Sr and Ca doped lanthanum chromite interconnect on Ni-YSZ anode of a solid oxide fuel cell after co-sintering is investigated. Based on the understanding of sintering mechanism, a dense La1−x−ySrxCayCrO3−δ interconnect membrane was successfully prepared on the anode support of NiO-YSZ by a novel method. In this method a base layer of La0.8Sr0.2CrO3−δ was screen printed on NiO-YSZ substrate and a top layer of CaCrO4 was then coated and co-sintered at 1400 °C. CaCrO4 not only melts and fills the open pores in the base layer, but it also dissolves in it forming La1−x−y SrxCayCrO3−δ as a single layer. The mechanism of CaCrO4 dissolution in the base layer, densification characteristics and microstructure of interconnect are discussed.