High-performance thin-film protonic ceramic fuel cells fabricated on anode supports with a non-proton-conducting ceramic matrix

A novel strategy to fabricate high-performance thin-film protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs) is introduced by building thin-film PCFC components, including BaCe 0.55 Zr 0.3 Y 0.15 O 3− δ (BCZY) electrolytes (1.5 μm) over anode supports consisting of non-proton-conducting ceramic and metal catalytic phases. Ni-yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) was used as supports in this study, which is superior in terms of its well-established facile fabrication process, along with physical and chemical stability, compared to proton-conducting materials. The Ni-YSZ supports provided a flat and smooth deposition surface that facilitates the deposition of the thin film components. A Ni-BCZY anode (∼3 μm), a dense BCZY electrolyte layer (∼1.5 μm), and a porous Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 Co 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3− δ cathode (∼2 μm) were sequentially fabricated over the Ni-YSZ substrates using pulsed laser deposition, followed by post-annealing, and the process was optimized for each component. A fully integrated thin-film PCFC microstructure was confirmed, resulting in high open circuit voltages exceeding 1 V at operating temperatures in the range of 450-650 °C. A promising fuel cell performance was obtained using the proposed fuel cell configuration, reaching a peak power density of 742 mW cm −2 at 650 °C. We proposed a facile and reliable fabrication method by implementing a novel cell platform and thin-film-deposition based protonic ceramic fuel cells.