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Viscoelastic Inks for Direct-Write Microfabrication of Single-Chamber Micro Solid Oxide Fuel Cells with Coplanar Thick Electrodes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Melanie Kuhn ,
Ranjeet B. Rao  and
Daniel Therriault
Melanie Kuhn
Affiliation:
melanie.kuhn@polymtl.ca, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Montreal, Canada
Ranjeet B. Rao
Affiliation:
ranjeet.rao@gmail.com, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Urbana, Illinois, United States
Daniel Therriault
Affiliation:
daniel.therriault@polymtl.ca, École Polytechnique de Montréal, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Montreal, Canada
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Abstract

Single-chamber micro solid oxide fuel cells (SC-μSOFCs) with coplanar electrodes were fabricated using a robotically controlled direct-write microfabrication approach. Viscoelastic, gel-based inks were employed to create homogeneous electrodes of controlled width and interelectrode distance as well as uniform cross-sectional thickness. Electrode powders, NiO-YSZ (yttria-stabilized zirconia) for the anode and (La0.8Sr0.2)0.98MnO3-YSZ for the cathode, were first dispersed with a cationic polyethyleneimine solution. Polyacrylic acid was added to induce a fluid-to-gel transition. The rheology of the fabricated inks was characterized. The inks were then extruded through cylindrical micronozzles and deposited onto YSZ electrolyte substrates using a robotic deposition apparatus. Thickness and width of the sintered electrodes were close to the diameter of the extrusion nozzle. The improved shape retention of the deposited electrodes also enabled the fabrication of continuous electrodes with square cross-section. The cathode adhered very well to the electrolyte during sintering. However, the mismatch between the thermal expansion coefficient of anode and electrolyte seems to cause detaching and breaking of the anode so that electrochemical characterization of the fabricated cells was not yet possible.

Keywords

ink-jet printingenergy generationceramic
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1179: Symposium BB – Material Systems and Processes for Three-Dimentional Micro-and Nanoscale Fabrication and Lithography , 2009 , 1179-BB06-32
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

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References

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