Fabrication and Characterization of Anode-Supported Tubular Solid-Oxide Fuel Cells by Slip Casting and Dip Coating Techniques

High-performance anode-supported tubular solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have been successfully developed and fabricated using slip casting, dip coating, and impregnation techniques. The effect of a dispersant and solid loading on the viscosity of the NiO/Y2O3-ZrO2 (NiO/YSZ) slurry is investigated in detail. The viscosity of the slurry was found to be minimum when the dispersant content was 0.6 wt% of NiO/YSZ. The effect of sintering temperature on the shrinkage and porosity of the anode tubes, densification of the electrolyte, and performance of the cell at different solid loadings is also investigated. A Ni/YSZ anode-supported tubular cell fabricated from the NiO/YSZ slurry with 65 wt% solid loading and sintered at 1380 degrees C produced a peak power output of similar to 491 and similar to 376 mW/cm(2) at 800 degrees C in wet H-2 and CH4, respectively. With the impregnation of Ce0.8Gd0.2O2 (GDC) nanoparticles, the peak power density increased to similar to 1104 and similar to 770 mW/cm(2) at 800 degrees C in wet H-2 and CH4, respectively. GDC impregnation considerably enhances the electrochemical performance of the cell and significantly reduces the ohmic and polarization resistances of thin solid electrolyte cells.