Thin-film heterostructure solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract

A micro thin-film solid oxide fuel cell (TFSOFC) has been designed based on thin-film deposition and microlithographic processes. The TFSOFC is composed of a thin-film electrolyte grown on a nickel foil substrate and a thin-film cathode deposited on the electrolyte. The Ni foil substrate is then processed into a porous anode by photolithographic patterning and etching to develop pores for gas transport into the fuel cell. A La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 (LSCO) thin-film cathode is then deposited on the electrolyte, and a porous NiO–YSZ cermet layer is added to the anode to improve the electrode performance. The TFSOFC has stably operated in a temperature ranges as low as 480–570 °C, significantly lower than bulk SOFC’s, and has yielded a maximum output power density of ∼110 mW/cm2 in that temperature range.

Enhanced conductivity in pulsed laser deposited Ce0.9Gd0.1O2−δ/SrTiO3 heterostructures

“…[1][2][3] Ce 0.9 Gd 0.1 O 2−␦ ͑CGO͒ exhibit larger ionic conductivity than yttrium stabilized zirconia, the conventional fuel cell electrolyte. 4,5 There is a huge interest to obtain ionic thin films with less Ohmic resistance, scaling linearly with thickness, thus operating at lower temperature.…”

Micro-solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Yttria-stabilized Zirconia and Nanoporous Pt Electrodes

“…[12][13][14][15][16][17][18] In particular, U. P. Muecke et al presented a µSOFC consisting of two Pt electrodes sandwiching a layer of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) on a glass ceramic substrate, which exhibited a maximum power density of about 150 mWcm −2 at 550 o C. 11 In this study, we present a Pt/YSZ/Pt µSOFC, where the two Pt electrodes forming the anode and cathode have almost uniform nanopores and a YSZ layer serves as the electrolyte. The Pt/ YSZ/Pt µSOFC was fabricated using deposition and etching techniques with anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) nanotemplates to form almost uniform nanopores on the Pt electrodes.…”

Thin Film Fuel Cell Based on Nanometer-Thick Membrane of Amorphous Zirconium Phosphate Electrolyte

“…For this reason, extensive research has been conducted to develop the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with a nanometer-thick film electrolyte because reducing electrolyte thickness significantly decreases the ohmic loss at lower temperatures. [1][2][3][4][5][6] We have previously reported that amorphous zirconium phosphate nanofilm, a-ZrP 2.6 O x , is a practically useful proton conductor with the area-specific resistance (ASR) of < 0.2 X cm 2 in a temperature range from 200 to 400 C in dry atmosphere. 7 Amorphous phases are advantageous as a thin film electrolyte because they tend to form the non-granular, denselypacked film without pinholes and clacks at elevated temperatures so that the gas crossover through the physical defects can be avoided during operation.…”