Tailoring an Interface Microstructure for High-Performance Reversible Protonic Ceramic Electrochemical Cells via Soft Lithography

Micropatterning is considered a promising strategy for improving the performance of electrochemical devices. However, micropatterning on ceramic is limited by its mechanically fragile properties. This paper reports a novel imprinting-assisted transfer technique to fabricate an interlayer structure in a protonic ceramic electrochemical cell with a micropatterned electrolyte. A dense proton-conducting electrolyte, BaCe0.7Zr0.1Y0.1Yb0.1O3−δ, is micropatterned in a chevron shape with the highest aspect ratio of patterns in electrode-supported cells to the best of our knowledge, increasing surface areas of both electrode sides more than 40%. The distribution of relaxation time analysis reveals that the chevron-patterned electrolyte layer significantly increases the electrode contact areas and active electrochemical reaction sites at the vicinity of the interfaces, contributing to enhanced performances of both the fuel cell and electrolysis operations. The patterned cell demonstrates improved fuel cell performance (>45%) and enhances electrolysis cell performance (30%) at 500 °C. This novel micropatterning technique is promising for the facile production of layered electrochemical cells, further opening a new route for the performance enhancement of ceramic-based electrochemical cells.