Inkjet-Printed LSM-YSZ Thin Films for Enhanced Oxygen Electrodes in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Conversion

Background:

• Solid oxide cells (SOCs) are crucial for energy conversion.
• Developing efficient electrode fabrication methods is key to improving SOC performance.
• Lanthanum strontium manganite-yttria-stabilized zirconia (LSM-YSZ) is a promising electrode material.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and characterize symmetrical oxide ion conducting solid oxide single cells using inkjet-printed LSM-YSZ electrodes.
• To compare the electrochemical performance of inkjet-printed electrodes against conventionally screen-printed electrodes.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of using water-based LSM-YSZ nanoparticle inks for SOC fabrication.

Main Methods:

• Development of stable, water-based LSM-YSZ nanoparticle inks.
• Fabrication of symmetrical SOCs (LSM-YSZ | GDC | YSZ | GDC | LSM-YSZ) using inkjet printing and screen printing.
• Characterization of ink physicochemical properties for printability.
• Electrochemical performance evaluation using AC impedance spectroscopy and linear scan voltammetry from 700-850 °C.

Main Results:

• Inkjet-printable LSM-YSZ nanoparticle inks were successfully developed.
• Inkjet-printed electrodes exhibited homogeneous and porous morphologies.
• SOCs with inkjet-printed electrodes achieved current densities nearly five times higher (up to 1 A/cm² at 850 °C) than screen-printed ones.
• This marks the first use of water-based LSM-YSZ inks in inkjet-printed SOCs.

Conclusions:

• Inkjet printing is a superior additive manufacturing technique for fabricating high-performance SOC electrodes.
• The developed water-based LSM-YSZ inks enable efficient and scalable production of advanced SOCs.
• This work paves the way for next-generation solid oxide energy devices.