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

Gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC, Gd _0.1Ce _0.9O _1.95) 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(La _0.6Sr _0.4Co _0.2Fe _0.8O _3-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.