Enhanced Thermal Stability of a Gadolinia-Doped Ceria Capped Metal Electrode for Durable Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. Issue 13 (26th September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hong, Soonwook; Oh, Seongkook; Kim, Hyong June; Lim, Yonghyun; An, Jihwan; Kim, Young-Beom
• Is Part Of: Journal of the Electrochemical Society. Volume 164:Issue 13(2017)
• Page Start: F1301
• Page End: F1306
• Publication Date: 2017-09-26
• Subjects: gadolinia-doped ceria -- oxide-capping layer -- Solid oxide fuel cell; Electrochemistry -- Periodicals; 541.3705
• DOI: 10.1149/2.0261713jes
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0013-4651

Abstract

Abstract : A gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) capping layer was fabricated on a metal Pt cathode via a sputtering technique to enhance the thermal stability and oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics. By varying the thickness of the GDC thin film on the Pt cathode, we fabricated thermally durable low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (LT-SOFCs) on porous anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) substrates while securing very high performance. The GDC protective layers subsequently mitigated the agglomeration of the Pt morphology by hindering the coarsening of metal grains, and enhanced the cathodic kinetics as a result of the increased TPB density at the Pt-electrolyte interface. Enhanced performance of fuel cells and thermo-stable behavior with the GDC capping layer were demonstrated by employing transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electrochemical analysis. An enhanced peak power density of 258 mW/cm 2 was obtained with a degradation of 56.4% of the Pt cathode over 25 hours of operation at 450°C.