PREPARE ELECTROLYTE AND ELECTROLYTE/ANODE BI-LAYERS FOR SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS WITH NOVEL GEL-CASTING METHOD

A novel gel-casting method has been developed from general slurry tape casting technique to prepare electrolyte films and bi-layers of electrolyte and anode. This method pen-nits to fabricate electrolyte layer as thin as 10-30 microns after sintering. In the study, a factorial experiment design was performed on the quantities of the gelling agent and the binders for the gel casting of electrolyte thin films and fuel cell bi-layers. The quality of the green films was assessed to determine the optimal amount of the gelling agent and the binders. The films were sintered at different temperatures from 1200 degrees C to 1450 degrees C to test the sinterability of the films. The sintering were also performed with impregnation of Bi(NO3)(3) resulting in a great improvement in densification at lower temperature.