Yttria-stabilized zirconia thin film electrolyte produced by RF sputtering for solid oxide fuel cell applications

Smeacetto, Federico; Salvo, Milena; Ajitdoss, Lakshmi Chandru; Perero, Sergio; Moskalewicz, T.; Boldrini, Stefano; Doubova, L.; Ferraris, Monica

doi:10.1016/j.matlet.2010.08.016

Cited by 40 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Pertaining to the potential applications of porous YSZ monolith, they mainly include membranes for nano-filtration that could endure extremely corrosive conditions, 17 refractory structure that could retain structural integrity at elevated temperatures, 18 and the anode structural component in solid oxide fuel cells to lodge Ni metal anode catalyst. 19 The gas permeability test and structural analysis of the sintered YSZ disc validated the superior pore-forming role of the graphitized carbon wedges over those that were based on removing porogens at lower temperatures. The resultant pore channels showed two typical widths that are below 20 nm (throat) and between 0.5 m and 1 m (channel) respectively in the sintered YSZ disc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Evolution of throttle-channel dual pores in YSZ ceramic monolith through in situ grown nano carbon wedges

Chen

Hong

Phua

2012

Journal of the European Ceramic Society

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 85%

Evolution of throttle-channel dual pores in YSZ ceramic monolith through in situ grown nano carbon wedges

Chen

Hong

Phua

2012

Journal of the European Ceramic Society

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“…The use of thin film electrolytes with thicknesses down to a few micrometers can minimize ohmic losses related to the electrolyte, and reduce the operation temperature of the SOFC to an intermediate domain of 500 -700 °C, which will increase cell lifetime and reduce the costs of components [12,13]. Previous investigations have demonstrated laboratory-scale deposition of thin films for SOFCs by wet chemical techniques [14,15] or PVD techniques [ 16] such as pulsed laser deposition (PLD) [ 17 ], atomic layer deposition (ALD) [18], electron beam physical vapor evaporation (EB-PVD) [19], and magnetron sputtering [20][21][22][23].…”

Section: Fuel Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous investigations have demonstrated laboratory-scale deposition of YSZ thin films by magnetron sputtering [20,21,[102][103][104][105]. For industrial applications, it is important to address the deposition time and throughput to keep the cost low enough to be competitive.…”

Section: Industrial-scale Ysz Depositionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia and Gadolinia-Doped Ceria Thin Films for Fuel Cell Applications

Sønderby¹

2014

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Solid oxide fuel cells convert chemical energy directly into electrical energy with high efficiency and low emission of pollutants. However, before fuel cell technology can gain a significant share of the electrical power market, the operation temperature needs to be reduced in order to decrease costs and improve the durability of the cells. Application of thin film electrolytes and barrier coatings is a way of achieving this goal.In this thesis, I have investigated film growth and microstructure of yttriastabilized zirconia (YSZ) and gadolinia-doped ceria (CGO) thin films deposited by physical vapor deposition. The aim is to make industrially applicable coatings suitable for application in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). For this purpose, the coatings need to be thin and dense. YSZ coatings were prepared by pulsed direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering and high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) in both laboratoryand industrial-scale setups.Industrial-scale pulsed DC magnetron sputtering of YSZ showed that homogenous coating over large areas was possible. In order to increase film density of the YSZ, HiPIMS was used. By tuning deposition pressure, peak power density and substrate bias voltage it was possible to deposit noncolumnar thin films without voids and cracks as desired for SOFC applications.CGO coatings were deposited by pulsed DC magnetron sputtering with the purpose of implementing diffusion barriers to prevent reactions between Sr from the SOFC cathode and the electrolyte. A model system simulating a SOFC was prepared by depositing thin CGO and YSZ layers on cathode material. This setup allowed the study of Sr diffusion by observing SrZrO 3 formation using X-ray diffraction while annealing. Electron microscopy was subsequently performed to confirm the results. The study revealed Sr to diffuse along column/grain boundaries in the CGO films but by modifying the film thickness and microstructure the breaking temperature of the barrier could be increased.CGO thin films were implemented in metal-based SOFC and the influence of film microstructure and thickness on the electrochemical performance of the cell was studied. Cell tests showed that an area specific resistance (ASR) down to 0.27 Ωcm 2 could be obtained at 650 °C with sputtered CGO barrier layers in combination with a lanthanum strontium cobaltite cathode. In comparison a spin-coated CGO barrier resulted in an ASR value of 0.50 Ωcm 2 . This shows the high effectiveness of the sputtered barrier in obtaining state-of-the-art performance. In summary, this work provides fundamental understanding of the deposition and growth of YSZ and CGO thins films and proves the prospective of employing thin film barrier coatings in order to obtain high-performing SOFCs.i ii POPULÄRVETENSKAPLIG SAMMANFATTNING Genom historien har människan alltid strävat efter att förbättra sina levnadsvillkor genom att förbättra eller utveckla nya verktyg och material. Utvecklingen av nya material har i hög grad påverkat civilisationen uppkomst, vilket framgår av...

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“…However, these methods are not suitable for producing dense and thin (a few µm in thickness) YSZ electrolytes. The latter can be achieved by synthesizing YSZ thin films employing a variety of chemical and physical methods [6] such as pulsed laser ablation (PLD) [7,8] chemical vapor deposition (CVD) [9], atomic layer deposition (ALD) [10], spin coating [11] and magnetron sputtering [12,13,14,15,16,17]. An issue often encountered when depositing YSZ thin films by physical vapor deposition techniques (PVD) (e.g., magnetron sputtering) at relatively low synthesis temperatures is the formation of underdense and columnar microstructures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deposition of yttria-stabilized zirconia thin films by high power impulse magnetron sputtering and pulsed magnetron sputtering

Sønderby

Aijaz

Helmersson

et al. 2014

Surface and Coatings Technology

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Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin films were reactively sputter-deposited by high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) and pulsed direct current magnetron sputtering (DCMS). The use of substrate bias voltage was studied in both modes of deposition as a process parameter to promote the growth of dense and less columnar films. Films were deposited on both Si(100) and NiO-YSZ fuel cell anodes. The texture, morphology and composition of the deposited films were investigated with regard to their application as thin electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Independent of the deposition mode the films were found to be stoichiometric. The application of substrate bias voltage had opposite effects on texture and crystallinity of films deposited by pulsed DCMS and HiPIMS. Films deposited by pulsed DCMS became highly crystalline and <220> textured at high bias voltage whereas bias applied to HiPIMS deposited films disrupted crystal growth leading to deterioration of crystallinity. Comparing film morphology, it was found that pulsed DCMS films were columnar and contained voids regardless of the applied substrate bias. When depositing by HiPIMS a window of operation at a bias voltage of -25 V to -50 V was found in which it is possible to deposit non-columnar thin films without voids and cracks as desired for SOFC applications.

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Yttria-stabilized zirconia thin film electrolyte produced by RF sputtering for solid oxide fuel cell applications

Cited by 40 publications

References 23 publications

Evolution of throttle-channel dual pores in YSZ ceramic monolith through in situ grown nano carbon wedges

Evolution of throttle-channel dual pores in YSZ ceramic monolith through in situ grown nano carbon wedges

Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia and Gadolinia-Doped Ceria Thin Films for Fuel Cell Applications

Deposition of yttria-stabilized zirconia thin films by high power impulse magnetron sputtering and pulsed magnetron sputtering

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