Development of solid oxide fuel cell components by tape casting methods

• Main Author: Pang, Pei Song
• Other Authors: Chan Siew Hwa
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Alternative, renewable energy sources
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/15732
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is an emerging fuel cell technology today. Researchers have been developing and evaluating SOFC in an attempt to unravel the immense benefits of this promising electrochemical device which efficiently convert chemical energy into electricity. Tape casting is the preferred choice when it comes to fabricating the substrate of an anode-supported SOFC. In particular, aqueous tape casting, which is environment-friendly and less hazardous to health, has attracted greater attention from researchers to further develop planar SOFC technology. The current study focuses on the development of a planar anode-supported SOFC through the means of aqueous tape casting method. The development process is in the sequence of material processing, tape casting process and further tape processing after sintering. Nickel oxide-gadolinium-doped ceria (NiO-GDC) was selected as the substrate’s material for the fabrication process. Thermal characteristic of the tape, analyzed through Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Thermal Shrinkage Analysis (TSA), was used to determine the sintering process of the green tape. Thereafter, microstructure studies on the sintered tape were carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to investigate the porosity of the green tape. The studies revealed that the influence of pore former, namely starch, enhanced the porosity of the anode, creating more large voids within the tape. After successfully sintering the anode, layers of electrolyte and cathode were each spray-coated and screen printed on it in sequence. Electrochemical analyzer (Autolab) was used to evaluate the single cell performance including electrochemical impedance spectra and power densities. From the current work, the single cell without the addition of pore former achieved better performance for open-circuit voltage (OCV) and maximum power density (Pmax). On the other hand, further studies are needed to optimize the content of pore former addition and further enhance the fuel cell performance.