Performances and Limitations of Metal Supported Cells with Strontium Titanate based Fuel Electrode

In this contribution, we report investigation of metal supported cells with a La_0.1Sr_0.9TiO_3–α (LST) based fuel electrode. The cells are prepared on a substrate made of a porous NiCrAl metal foam infiltrated with NiO and LST materials. The functional anode layer, consisting of LST mixed with a Gd_0.1Ce_0.9O_2–α (GDC), is produced by screen printing. Nickel metal is infiltrated in the backbone to enhance electronic and catalytic properties. The electrolyte made of an 1 μm + 0.5µm thick Zr_0.84Y_0.16O_2–α (YSZ) layer followed by a 2 μm thick GDC layer, is fabricated by wet ceramic processing and electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD), respectively. La_0.6Sr_0.4Co_0.2Fe_0.8O_3–α (LSCF) is employed as a cathode material. All cells are electrochemically characterized. At 750 °C and at a cell voltage of 0.7 V, the typically achieved power density value is up to 0.40 W cm⁻². With less than 2% variation for 50 cycles, the OCV showed an excellent stability as a function of redox cycles, demonstrating that an electrolyte as thin as 3 µm maintains its integrity, despite the harsh operating conditions. This highlights the potential of perovskite based fuel electrodes in metal supported cells, and paves the way to the next generation of cells' design.