Prontonic ceramic membrane fuel cells with layered GdBaCo₂O_5+x cathode prepared by gel-casting and suspension spray

In order to develop a simple and cost-effective route to fabricate protonic ceramic membrane fuel cells (PCMFCs) with layered GdBaCo₂O_5+x (GBCO) cathode, a dense BaZr_0.1Ce_0.7Y_0.2O_3-δ (BZCY7) electrolyte was fabricated on a porous anode by gel-casting and suspension spray. The porous NiO-BaZr_0.1Ce_0.7Y_0.2O_3-δ (NiO-BZCY7) anode was directly prepared from metal oxide (NiO, BaCO₃, ZrO₂, CeO₂ and Y₂O₃) by a simple gel-casting process. A suspension of BaZr_0.1Ce_0.7Y_0.2O_3-δ powders synthesized by gel-casting was then employed to deposit BaZr_0.1Ce_0.7Y_0.2O_3-δ (BZCY7) thin layer by pressurized spray process on NiO-BZCY7 anode. The bi-layer with 10 μm dense BZCY7 electrolyte was obtained by co-sintering at 1400 °C for 5 h. With layered GBCO cathode synthesized by gel-casting on the bi-layer, single cells were assembled and tested with H₂ as fuel and the static air as oxidant. An open-circuit potential of 0.98 V, a maximum power density of 266 mW cm^-2, and a low polarization resistance of the electrodes of 0.16 Ω cm² was achieved at 700 °C.