Fabrication of 3D NiO-YSZ structures for enhanced performance of solid oxide fuel cells and electrolysers

Increasing densities of (electrode–electrolyte-pore) triple phase boundaries (TPBs) / reaction sites enhance performances solid oxide electrochemical reactors (SOERs) in both fuel cell (SOFC) and electrolyser (SOE) modes. Inkjet 3D printing is capable construction ceramic microstructures on support layers, enabling fabrication SOERs with enhanced active area to geometric ratios, thereby up-scaling effective areas TBP lengths per unit volume. A Ni(O)-YSZ functional layer was designed inkjet printed a surface circular pillars, facile geometry for that increased the interfacial ratio. Deposition further layers sintering resulted fully fabricated structures: H2O-H2 | pillars YSZ YSZ-LSM O2, Air. The corresponding planar structured also same components, comparison its performance pillar-structured cell. latter exhibited enhancement over counterpart by factors ca. 1.5 mode, 3 steam electrolysis 4–5 CO2 demonstrating potential structuring electrode electrolyte interfaces developing higher SOERs.