Electrochemical Performance of Plasma Sprayed Metal Supported Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Abstract

High production cost is one of the major barriers to widespread commercialization of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Thermal spray techniques are a low cost alternative for the production of SOFCs. The objective of this work was to evaluate the electrochemical performance of half-cells produced by plasma spraying. The anode was deposited on a porous metallic support by atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) whereas the electrolyte was deposited by plasma spray-thin film (PS-TF) technique which can produce thin and dense coatings at high deposition rates. The cathode was deposited by screen-printing. The electrochemical tests were performed at 650-800°C. Current-voltage characteristics and impedance spectra were measured and analyzed. The impact of electrolyte composition and layer thickness on the gas tightness of the electrolyte and the area specific resistance of the cell is discussed. The results show that the applied thermal spraying techniques are a potential alternative for producing SOFCs.

Atmospheric Plasma-Sprayed Metal-Supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Varying Cathode Microstructures

“…Cells had open circuit potentials between 1.01 and 1.06 V at 750 • C. These open circuit potentials are comparable to values, reported by others in the literature, for metal supported cells containing electrolytes fabricated by atmospheric plasma spraying. [17][18][19][20] The open circuit potentials were 52 to 92 mV below the Nernst potential of 1.11 V, likely due to a small amount of gas crossover through the seal and electrolytes.…”

Recent developments in metal‐supported solid oxide fuel cells

“…The latter must evolve to a highly automated and precise set of operations capable of generating high throughputs. Typical techniques that can be scaled up are—Tape Casting, Screen Printing thermal spray, and colloidal deposition, viz., inkjet printing, electroplating/electroless plating, for deposition on surfaces; which is followed by high‐temperature sintering in furnaces, although thermal spray, e.g., APS and its variations in terms of vacuum and low pressure, spray pyrolysis offer major possibilities in a combined deposition and sintering mode, due to the short time scales involved to complete the sintering/cosintering …”

“…Typical techniques that can be scaled up are-Tape Casting, Screen Printing thermal spray, and colloidal deposition, viz., inkjet printing, electroplating/electroless plating, for deposition on surfaces; which is followed by high-temperature sintering in furnaces, although thermal spray, e.g., APS and its variations in terms of vacuum and low pressure, spray pyrolysis offer major possibilities in a combined deposition and sintering mode, due to the short time scales involved to complete the sintering/ cosintering. 32,33,[37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49] Hui et al 37 in a comprehensive review have discussed the technology of thermal sprays in general, including the widely used APS. PS technology has been used extensively for coatings for turbine blades, components of diesel engines, e.g., where protection of crucial metallic parts with ceramic layers, are necessary, to protect them from wear and tear, and corrosion.…”