Improvement of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Performance by Enlarging Contact Area at the Interface Using Electrostatic Spray Deposition

In solid oxide fuel cells, the interface between the cathode and the electrolyte is an important factor determining the electrochemical performance, particularly increasing the contact area at the interface. In this study, the contact area at the interface was expanded by depositing smaller and more uniform cathode particles using the electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) process compared with the conventional screen printing (SP) process. The structural and physical properties of the improved interface were directly analyzed through the mechanical tensile strength test, and the correlation with the electrochemical properties was demonstrated through the electrochemical analysis. The cathode deposited using the ESD process showed a high peak power density of 1.9 W/cm² at 600 °C that was approximately 1.7 times higher than that of the SP process in a Ni-Gd_0.1Ce_0.9O_1.95-based single cell.