Integration of Innovative Oxide Materials in an It-Sofc : Elaboration and electrochemical characterisations of planar anode-supported Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

This book aimed at assessing the potential of a novel cathode / electrolyte couple for IT-SOFC applications (700C), through the elaboration and testing of planar anode-supported cells. The materials involved were the perovskite-structured BaIn0.3Ti0.7O2.85 (BIT07) electrolyte and the rare earth nickelate Ln2-xNiO4+delta (LnN, Ln = La, Nd, Pr) cathodes, both materials having shown promising properties in preliminary work done at the IMN and the ICMCB, respectively. The first part of this work concerned the implementation of a cell elaboration protocol using low-cost and scalable shaping techniques (cell size 3 x 3 cm2); namely, the Ni / BIT07 anodes were elaborated by tape casting, the BIT07 electrolyte by vacuum slip casting and the cathodes by screen printing. Comparison of electrochemical results for a first and second generation of cells highlighted the usefulness of adding a GDC buffer layer in between the LnN cathodes and the BIT07 electrolyte. A competitive polarisation resistance of 0.29 Ohm cm has been obtained at 700C and 0.7V with a GDC | PrN cathode. This cell has been operated beyond 500 hours.