Enhanced Performance of Gadolinia-Doped Ceria Diffusion Barrier Layers Fabricated by Pulsed Laser Deposition for Large-Area Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Diffusion barrier layers are typically introduced in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) to avoid reaction between state-of-the-art cathode and electrolyte materials, La1–xSrxCo1–yFeyO3-δ and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), respectively. However, commonly used layers of gadolinia-doped ceria (CGO) introduce overpotentials that significantly reduce the cell performance. This performance decrease is mainly due to the low density achievable with traditional deposition techniques, such as screen printing, at acceptable fabrication temperatures. In this work, perfectly dense and reproducible barrier layers for state-of-the-art cells (∼80 cm2) were implemented, for the first time, using large-area pulsed laser deposition (LA-PLD). In order to minimize cation interdiffusion, the low-temperature deposited barrier layers were thermally stabilized in the range between 1100 and 1400 °C. Significant enhanced performance is reported for cells stabilized at 1150 °C showing excellent power densities of 1.25 W·cm–2 at 0.7 V and at a operation temperature of 750 °C. Improved cells were finally included in a stack and operated in realistic conditions for 4500 h revealing low degradation rates (0.5%/1000 h) comparable to reference cells. This approach opens new perspectives in manufacturing highly reproducible and stable barrier layers for a new generation of SOFCs.