Fabrication of Thin Electrodic Films by Solution Aerosol Thermolysis (SAT)

Thin films of ceramic or ceramic-metal (cermet) electrodes with appropriate structure and morphology significantly affect performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs. Thus, electrode parameters such as thickness, porosity and tortuosity dictate the values of gaseous effective diffusivities that eventually determine the extent of concentration polarization losses in these high temperature ceramic fuels cells 1 . In addition, electrode thickness is also a factor dictating concentration polarization losses in working fuel cells which should be as low as possible. Furthermore, it was established that, even total ohmic cell polarization in ceramic fuel cells based on conventional yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte is significantly affected by electrode microstructure to a greater extent than by electrolyte ohmic resistance. This becomes more evident at low electrolyte thicknesses (i.e.