Development of highly efficient and durable large-area solid oxide fuel cell by a direct-ink-writing three-dimensional printer

The commercialization of efficient and durable solid oxide fuel cells is hugely hindered due to the expensive and complex fabrication process. In this regard, the additive manufacturing technique, i.e., three-dimensional printing (3-D printing), has gained tremendous attention because of its ability to fabricate tunable functional ceramic layers with cost-effectiveness and mass customization. Therefore, in this work, the anode (NiO-ScSZ) and cathode (LSM) of the large-area SOFC (5 × 5 cm²) are printed using a direct-ink-writing (DIW) printer. The anode-functional and electrolyte layers are coated by spray and spin coating. The viscosity of the optimized anode and cathode inks are 5.85 Pa s and 0.97 Pa s, respectively. The electrochemical impedance and the performance of 3D-SOFC are investigated by supplying hydrogen and air. The maximum power density of the cell is 368 mW cm⁻² at 800 °C. However, by inserting a hybrid scandia stabilized zirconia layer by spraying followed by magnetron sputtering onto the AFL, the electrochemical performance of the cell is significantly (21%) enhanced; the peak power density is 442 mW cm⁻², and the corresponding polarization resistance is 0.267 Ω cm² at 800 °C. Furthermore, the long-term cell test under galvanostatic mode (j = 0.5 A cm⁻²) at 700 °C for 100 h and thermal cycling between 400 and 700 °C concludes that the 3D-SOFC exhibits exceptional stability with a voltage loss of 0.845% h⁻¹ and thermomechanical durability.