Lowering the sintering temperature of low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells with Sm 3 + and Nd 3 + co-doped ceria electrolyte

Low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell with co-doped ceria electrolyte is a promising high efficient and cost-effective power conversion device, which needs rapid progress. One of the main issues is high sintering temperatures (1500–1600°C), increasing difficulty and cost in the cell fabrication process. To lower the sintering temperature, Fe has been evaluated as a sintering aid for Sm 3+ and Nd 3+ co-doped ceria electrolyte. The reduction in sintering temperature between Sm 0.1 Nd 0.1 Ce 0.79 Fe 0.01 O 2-δ and Sm 0.1 Nd 0.1 Ce 0.8 O 2-δ is as much as 250°. The Sm 0.1 Nd 0.1 Ce 0.79 Fe 0.01 O 2-δ sintered at an optimal sintering temperature of 1250 °C exhibits the highest grain-boundary conductivity and relative density, which is much higher than that of Sm 0.1 Nd 0.1 Ce 0.8 O 2-δ . The doping of Fe increases both bulk conductivity and grain boundary conductivity of the SNDC electrolyte. An integrated single cell with Sm 0.1 Nd 0.1 Ce 0.79 Fe 0.01 O 2-δ electrolyte exhibits a high maximum power density of 458 mWcm −2 at 650°C, which is 20–30% higher than previous reports.