Intermediate-temperature nickel–yttria stabilized zirconia supported tubular solid oxide fuel cells using gadolinia-doped ceria electrolyte

Gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC, Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95) powders with high sinterability are prepared by carbonate coprecipitation and applied in the fabrication of Ni–YSZ (yttria-stabilized zirconia)-supported tubular solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with a cell configuration of Ni–YSZ/Ni/Ni–GDC/GDC/LSCF(La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ)–GDC/LSCF. A high power density (594 mW cm−2) at 600 °C is achieved using the cell (diameter: 6 mm) prepared by sintering of the electrolyte at 1400 °C. This result is attributed to the dense electrolyte and good adherence between GDC and the electrode. The carbonate-derived GDC powders can be sintered to 97% of the theoretical density even at 1050 °C, which demonstrates that the fabrication temperature of tubular SOFCs can potentially be lowered by using cost-effective Ni–YSZ supports.