Intermediate-temperature operation of solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs) with thin film proton conductive electrolyte

A novel solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) structure, which is fabricated on a Pd-plated porous stainless steel substrate, was proposed for low-temperature SOFC operation. The surface of the substrate was covered with Pd layer without any pores, which reduces the difficulty of depositing thin film electrolyte on the porous substrate. A 1.2-μm thick proton conductive Sr(Zr0.8Y0.2)O3-δ (SZYO) layer and the cathode of a 100-nm thick (La0.6Sr0.4)(Co0.2Fe0.8)O3-δ (LSCF) layer were deposited on the Pd-plated substrates by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. The low temperature operations at 400 and 450 °C were demonstrated with proposed SOFC cells.