CHARACTERIZATION OF AN ANODE-SUPPORTED PLANAR SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL WITH A POROSITY CONCENTRATION GRADIENT

A standard Ni/YSZ cermet tape-cast anode, an 8mol%YSZ electrolyte, and lanthanum strontium manganite (LSM) cathode were used for the fabrication process of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) unit. An anode-supported electrolyte was prepared using a tape casting technique followed by hot pressing lamination and a single step co-firing process, allowing the creation of a thin layer of dense electrolyte. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a crack-free and dense structure of the electrolyte in the unit cell. The unit cell exhibited good performance and demonstrated that the concentration distribution of porosity in the anode increases the power in the unit cell. Active layers, with different rates of pore fonner, were added in the anode slurry, and the different tapes (with different pore-formers) were then successfully laminated together.