Investigation of Aerosol Jet Deposition Parameters for Printing SOFC Layers

This work entails an investigation of the Aerosol Jet^® Printing (AJP) method for depositing dense and porous layers necessary for the fabrication of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Ink preparation, method of printing, and the impact of various printing and processing parameters on the microstructure of layers will be presented. In addition, the electrochemical performance of anode supported button cells produced via the AJP process will be discussed. Thin electrolyte and cathode layers were deposited onto a standard anode-supported substrate and consisted of a yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte, a strontium doped lanthanum manganate (LSM)/YSZ cathode functional interlayer, and a neat LSM cathode current collection layer. Optimal printing parameters for depositing dense electrolyte layers with thickness ranging from a few microns to a few tens of microns (8–33 μm) were identified. Porous composite cathode interlayers were printed from mixtures of individually aerosolized components of YSZ and LSM. Button cells incorporating the electrolyte and cathode layers on a NiO/YSZ support substrate exhibited stable voltage of 1.16–1.20 V at open circuit at 700–850 °C for hydrogen and air as fuel and oxidant, respectively. The results demonstrate the capability and potential of AJP method for deposition of layers necessary for SOFC fabrication and suggest that the method is very viable for obtaining highly reproducible microstructures with potential for mass manufacturing.