Elaboration of thin and dense CGO films adherent to YSZ by electrostatic spray deposition for IT-SOFC applications

The aim of this work was to fabricate a dense and thin film of gadolinium doped ceria (CGO) adherent on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) using electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFC) applications. In order to optimize the film microstructure and thickness, several ESD parameters were studied such as the total salt concentration of the solution (0.05, 0.01 and 0.005 mol L(-1)), the substrate temperature (range from 275 to 350 degrees C), the solvent composition (using different butyl-carbitol : ethanol ratios), nozzle-to-substrate distance (35 and 45 mm), the solution flow rate (0.50, 0.67 and 1 mL h(-1)) and the deposition time (from 15 to 60 min). The different morphologies observed by SEM are discussed. A continuous 85 nm film was successfully deposited on a YSZ substrate for the first time by ESD. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction analysis showed two phases: the cubic CGO and YSZ phases with no secondary phases. The first impedance measurements did not show any degradation of CGO/YSZ electrical properties compared with pure YSZ.