Anode supported planar 5 × 5 cm2 SrZr0.5Ce0.4Y0.1O2.95 based solid oxide protonic fuel cells via sequential tape-casting

Solid oxide protonic fuel cells are one of the most efficient means of directly converting stored chemical energy to usable electrical energy. Acceptor-doped Ba(Zr, Ce)O3 perovskite-type oxides are the preferred electrolyte choice as they provide higher conductivity due to lower activation energy. While substantial progress has been made on small-sized protonic laboratory-scale cells, a considerable challenge has been upscaling robust planar-type devices. This paper employs a cost-effective inverse tape casting route and screen printing to fabricate flat planar anode-supported protonic fuel cells consisting of NiO-SrZr0.5Ce0.4Y0.1O3-δ substrate, SrZr0.5Ce0.4Y0.1O3-δ electrolyte, and BaCo0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y 0.1O3-δ as the cathode. The processing parameters were analyzed and adjusted to obtain defect-free single cells of dimension up to 100 mm × 100 mm × 0.5 mm with diminished warping. In addition, the smooth tri-layered green tapes yielded suitably dense and gas-tight electrolyte layers after co-sintering at 1300 °C/5 h. Finally, the electrochemical performance of the 50 × 50 mm2 SrZr0.5Ce0.4Y0.1O2.95 based cells was evaluated, and their impedance spectra were deconvoluted to identify all performance-related polarization processes via the distribution of relaxation time.