Ultra-fast route to fabricate large-area anode-supported solid oxide fuel cell via microwave-assisted sintering

Abstract

Herein, a practical, facile, and ultra-fast technique to fabricate a large-area multi-layered solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is reported. In this technique, a total 25 tape-casted green films of anode-support layer, anode functional layer (AFL), electrolyte layer, and buffer layer were sequentially co-laminated and co-sintered at 1250 °C using microwave energy (2.45 GHz) in a record short time of 90 min. This process is 16 times faster than the conventional sintering process. The microwave-assisted sintering method enhanced the densification of the electrolyte and buffer layer by directly transferring the heat into the cell material. Despite the incredibly rapid processing time, the microwave-assisted sintered cell showed improved interfacial connectivity of the electrolyte and buffer layer in comparison to the conventionally sintered cell. The large-area (6 cm × 6 cm) SOFC fabricated through this route showed a maximum power density of 1.05 Wcm-2 at 750 °C. Moreover, the cell showed exceptional long-term stability tested under a constant current of 10 A for 500 h at 750 °C. The approach seems appealing in terms of its rapidity, simplicity, economic viability, and applicability in multi-layer energy devices. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l.