Low temperature performance improvement of SOFC with thin film electrolyte and electrodes fabricated by pulsed laser deposition

The performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with thin film electrolytes and electrodes was investigated at a lower operating temperature regime (T ≤ 600°C). 2×2 cm anode-supported unit cells with thin film components of a Ni-yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) composite anode interlayer, a thin (≤ 1μm) YSZ electrolyte, and a lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide cathode were fabricated by using pulsed laser deposition, and the performance of the cells was characterized at the temperature range of 350°C ≤ T ≤ 600°C. Stable open-circuit voltage values above 1 V were successfully obtained with thin film electrolyte cells, which implied that the 1 μm thick electrolyte was fairly dense and gastight. The thin film electrolyte cells exhibited a much more improved cell performance than a thick film (∼8 μm) YSZ electrolyte cell at the low operating temperature regime (350-550°C) and, in some cases, showed better power outputs than other thin film membrane micro-SOFCs.