Thermosetting polymer templated nanoporous sinter-active layer for low temperature solid oxide fuel cells

A facile synthesis method was developed to form a nanoporous metal oxide layer using poly(furfuryl alcohol) (PFA) as a thermosetting polymer template. A nanoporous Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 (SDC) layer with high sinterability was prepared on an anode-supported electrolyte film at 900 degrees C, and used as a sinter-active layer in cell fabrication to improve the interface between the inert electrolyte surface and the cathode layer of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The resulting saw-like interface improved the maximum powder density of the cell by 51% at 600 degrees C and 162% at 500 degrees C compared with that of the unmodified cell. The cell with the saw-like electrolyte-cathode interface exhibited lower electrode polarization resistance than those reported in the literature, and such improvement was much more significant at reduced operating temperatures (400-500 degrees C). Our study shows that the operating temperature of solid oxide fuel cells can be substantially lowered by simply improving the electrode-electrolyte interfaces.