Commercially available anode supported solid oxide fuel cells (NiO-8YSZ/8YSZ/LSCF-20 mm in diameter) were anode infiltrated with gadolinium doped ceria (CGO) using a scalable drop-on-demand inkjet printing process. Cells were infiltrated with two different precursor solutions-water based or propionic acid based. The saturation limit of the 0.5 lm thick anode supports sintered at 1400°C was found to be approximately 1wt%. No significant enhancement in power output was recorded at practical voltage levels. Microstructural characterisation was carried out after electrochemical performance testing using high resolution scanning electron microscopy. This work demonstrates that despite the feasibility of achieving CGO nanoparticle infiltration into thick, commercial SOFC anodes with a simple, low-cost and industrially scalable procedure other loss mechanisms were dominant. Infiltration of model symmetric anode cells with the propionic acid based ink demonstrated that significant reductions in polarisation resistance were possible.

Direct Ceramic Inkjet Printing (DCIJP) was applied for fabrication of functional coatings in metal-supported SOFCs. An optimization procedure of the ink formulations and the printing parameters was performed allowing routine production of coatings with thicknesses below 20 µm with an additional benefit of surface defects planarization. Commercial low-cost stainless steel 430L powders were chosen as source materials. The supports sintering procedures was performed in vacuum. The density and open porosity distribution of as-sintered supports were determined by Archimedes' method and optical image analysis. The relation between the sintering conditions and the micro-structural characteristics of the metal supports and the coatings were studied. The influence of the printing parameters on the droplets spreading behaviour was explored. The microstructure and elemental distribution were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscope and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry system. The analyses confirmed that DCIJP can be successfully applied for the production and modification of metal supported SOFCs.

Thin Nd-doped potassium gadolinium tungstate ͓KGW or KGd͑WO 4 ͒ 2 ͔ films are grown by pulsed laser deposition by ablation of a stoichiometric monocrystal target. Rutherford backscattering, x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and waveguide propagation analyses are performed. The as-grown films are optically active, as evidenced by the photoluminescence spectra centered at 1.068 m. In some of the films, fine photoluminescence spectra between Stark levels are observed.

No abstract