8mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is the most currently used electrolyte material for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) due to is chemical and... Show more8mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is the most currently used electrolyte material for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) due to is chemical and thermal stability and its high oxygen ion conductivity at high temperature. However, SOFC based on YSZ electrolyte operate generally at very high temperatures (900-1000℃) for adequate oxygen conductivity, therefore the selection of materials for other cell components has a lot of problems, such as high materials costs and degradation of performance. To avoid the problem associated with high temperatures, it would be desirable to reduce the operating temperature from 900℃ to intermediate temperatures, typically 600-800℃. But, at these temperature, the ohmic losses due to the low ionic conductivity of the electrolyte become too high for thick (100μm) YSZ electrolyte. Therefore, a thin (less than 10μm) but dense and tight electrolyte is needed. Because the thin film YSZ electrolyte makes the oxygen ions have a shorter conducting path, unit cells have less ohmic resistance at a reduced temperature. To make SOFC working at intermediate temperature, a thin (less than 10μm) but dense and tight electrolyte is needed. This work takes a closer look at electrostatic spraying of ceramic suspensions and the ability of sprayed layer to sinter into dense layer under the 10μm thickness range. In this study, a new ESD deposition system was designed and produced, the relationship between ESD parameters and the deposition results was established, most of all, pore free and complete dense ultra-thin YSZ electrolyte thin film (less than 1μm) was successfully made with ESD technique. M.S. in MaterialsS ciencea ndE ngineering, May 2013 Show less
