Systematic Analysis on the Effect of Sintering Temperature for Optimized Performance of Li(0.15)Ni(0.45)Zn(0.4)O(2)-Gd(0.2)Ce(0.8)O(2)-Li(2)CO(3)-Na(2)CO(3)-K(2)CO(3) Based 3D Printed Single-Layer Ceramic Fuel Cell

Single-layer ceramic fuel cells consisting of Li(0.15)Ni(0.45)Zn(0.4)O(2), Gd(0.2)Ce(0.8)O(2) and a eutectic mixture of Li(2)CO(3), Na(2)CO(3) and K(2)CO(3), were fabricated through extrusion-based 3D printing. The sintering temperature of the printed cells was varied from 700 °C to 1000 °C to identify the optimal thermal treatment to maximize the cell performance. It was found that the 3D printed single-layer cell sintered at 900 °C produced the highest power density (230 mW/cm(2)) at 550 °C, which is quite close to the performance (240 mW/cm(2)) of the single-layer cell fabricated through a conventional pressing method. The best printed cell still had high ohmic (0.46 Ω·cm(2)) and polarization losses (0.32 Ω·cm(2)) based on EIS measurements conducted in an open-circuit condition. The XRD spectra showed the characteristic peaks of the crystalline structures in the composite material. HR-TEM, SEM and EDS measurements revealed the morphological information of the composite materials and the distribution of the elements, respectively. The BET surface area of the single-layer cells was found to decrease from 2.93 m(2)/g to 0.18 m(2)/g as the sintering temperature increased from 700 °C to 1000 °C. The printed cell sintered at 900 °C had a BET surface area of 0.34 m(2)/g. The fabrication of single-layer ceramic cells through up-scalable 3D technology could facilitate the scaling up and commercialization of this promising fuel cell technology.