Aqueous Thick-Film Ceramic Processing of Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Using La0.20Sr0.25Ca0.45TiO3 Anode Supports
Authors: Price Robert , Savaniu Cristian Daniel , Cassidy Mark , Irvine John Thomas Sirr 
Published: July 2021

Research into the use of Rh and Ce0.80Gd0.20O1.90 (CGO20) co-impregnated La0.20Sr0.25Ca0.45TiO3 (LSCTA-) anodes for electrolyte-supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) has yielded extremely impressive durability and robustness at industrial short stack scales over the past decade. These anodes have exhibited the ability to rival the degradation and RedOx/thermal/thermo-RedOx cycling tolerance of state-of-the-art SOFC anodes at short stack scales, in addition to providing the ability to operate under sulfur-laden fuel gas streams and high fuel utilisation/overload conditions. (1)

Given the success of implementation of LSCTA- anodes into Electrolyte Supported Cells (ESC) and the reasonable mechanical strength of LSCTA- as a support material, (2,3) successful attempts have also been made to employ LSCTA- as an anode support for SOFC at button cell scales, (4,5) in addition to appraisal of the upscaling of thick-film ceramic processing techniques used to prepare larger (20 cm by 20 cm) SOFC anode supports. (3) These studies performed by Lu et al., Ni et al. and Verbraeken et al. (3-5) focussed upon production of LSCTA- anode supports by aqueous tape casting followed by either co-casting or screen printing of a 8 mol. % yttria-stabilised-zirconia (8YSZ) electrolyte layer.

Therefore, using these studies as a basis for the current research, we present results concerning the ceramic processing of Anode Supported Cells (ASC) that employ LSCTA- anode ‘backbone’ microstructures, with the ultimate aim of testing SOFC whose anodes have been decorated with Rh and CGO20 catalysts through wet impregnation. Here, we detail a thermal compatibility study of a variety of electrode and electrolyte material sets using dilatometric analysis, leading to the conclusion that the shrinkages of LSCTA- and 8YSZ are sufficiently matched to allow co-sintering of the anode support and electrolyte layers. Subsequently, the thick-film aqueous ceramic processing of LSCTA- anode supports, via tape casting, is discussed in addition to an appraisal of the most appropriate method to produce dense 8YSZ electrolyte layers (i.e., electrolyte deposition by co-casting or screen printing), with the aim of co-sintering the structure up to 1400 °C in air. Finally, an evaluation of the microstructural characteristics of LSCTA
− supports, prepared using a typical graphite pore former (commonly used with organic solvent systems) or without the use of a pore former, will be provided, in comparison to microstructures resulting from the incorporation of poly(ethyl/methyl methacrylate) pore formers that are compatible with the aqueous solvent system employed.

References

R. Price, M. Cassidy, J. G. Grolig, G. Longo, U. Weissen, A. Mai and J. T. S. Irvine, Adv. Energy Mater., 2003951, 1 (2021).

V. Vasechko, M. Ziegner and J. Malzbender, Ceram. Int., 40, 13179 (2014).

M. C. Verbraeken, B. R. Sudireddy, V. Vasechko, M. Cassidy, T. Ramos, J. Malzbender, P. Holtappels and J. T. S. Irvine, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc., 38, 1663 (2018).

L. Lu, C. Ni, M. Cassidy and J. T. S. Irvine, J. Mater. Chem. A, 4, 11708 (2016).

C. Ni, L. Lu, D. N. Miller, M. Cassidy and J. T. S. Irvine, J. Mater. Chem. A, 6, 5398 (2018).