The Effect of Fabrication Conditions for GDC Buffer Layer on Electrochemical Performance of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Abstract A Gd-doped ceria (GDC) buffer layer is required between a conventional yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte and a La-Sr-Co-Fe-O 3 (LSCF) cathode to prevent their chemical reaction. In this study, the effect of varying the conditions for fabricating the GDC buffer layer, such as sintering temperature and amount of sintering aid, on the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) performance was investigated. A finer GDC powder (i.e., ultra-high surface area), a higher sintering temperature (∼1290°C), and a larger amount of sintering aid (∼12%) resulted in improved densification of the buffer layer; however, the electrochemical performance of an anode-supported cell containing this GDC buffer layer was poor. These conflicting results are attributed to the formation of (Zr, Ce)O 2 and/or excess cobalt grain boundaries (GBs) at higher sintering temperatures with a large amount of sintering aid (i.e., cobalt oxide). A cell comprising of a cobalt-free GDC buffer layer, which was fabricated using a low-temperature process, had lower cell resistance and higher stability. The results indicate that electrochemical performance and stability of SOFCs strongly depend on fabrication conditions for the GDC buffer layer.