High-Performance (Ce, Zr)O-Free Solid Oxide Fuel Cell with an Active-Sintered Cathode Interface and a Low-Temperature Densified Micron-Scale Barrier Layer.

Incorporating a dense GDC (GdCeO) barrier layer is an effective strategy to avoid harmful reactions between the LSCF (LaSrCoFeO) cathode and the YSZ (yttria-stabilized zirconia) electrolyte. In this study, a micron-scale and dense GDC barrier layer is obtained by the combination of spin coating, low-temperature sintering, and hydrothermal-assisted densification. The cell exhibits decent output performance, with a peak power density of 1.07 W/cm at 780 °C. The ohmic and polarization resistances are significantly decreased by ∼44 and ∼36% than the cell with the screen-printed GDC barrier layer, respectively. Due to the low sintering temperature of the GDC barrier layer at 1200 °C, there is nearly no generation of (Ce, Zr)O at the interface of GDC/YSZ. The thin and dense GDC barrier layer effectively shortens the oxygen-ion conduction pathway, as well as hinders Sr migration from the cathode, highlighting its remarkable potential for industrial applications.