Preparation and Properties of Yttria Stabilized Zirconia Electrolyte for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell by Plasma Spraying

Metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells have promising applications. However, there is no the corresponding cost-effective preparation technology. Yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte of solid oxide fuel cell was fabricated on a meatal substrate via high-efficiency and low-cost atmospheric plasma spraying (APS). The relationship between depositional particle morphology and coating structure under heating matrix conditions was investigated. The mechanical properties of electrolyte and cell out performance were evaluated. The results indicate that YSZ deposition particles on the heated substrate are fully spread. However, some microcracks appear in the splats, leading to some vertical cracks and interlamellar unbonded-interfaces inside the coating, the porosity is 7.16%, and nanoindentation hardness and elastic modulus of YSZ electrolyte are (13±1.04) GPa and (188.5±2.59) GPa, respectively. The maximum open voltage of cell with YSZ electrolyte deposited by APS is 0.97 V, thus improving the density. Nevertheless, the cell out performance is quite considerable with a peak power density of 850 mW/cm² at 900 ℃. After the optimization of equipment iteration or combined with the post-treatment process, APS can be used to obtain alarge-scale and low-cost preparation of dense YSZ electrolytes.