Preparation of electrolyte membranes for micro tubular solid oxide fuel cells

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) micro tubular electrolyte membranes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) were prepared via the combined wet phase inversion and sintering technique. The as-derived YSZ micro tubes consist of a thin dense skin layer and a thick porous layer that can serve as the electrode of fuel cells. The dense and the porous electrolyte layers have the thickness of 3–5 μm and 70–90 μm, respectively, while the inner surface porosity of the porous layer is higher than 28.1%. The two layers are perfectly integrated together to preclude the crack or flake of electrolyte film from the electrode. The presented method possesses distinct advantages such as technological simplicity, low cost and high reliability, and thus provides a new route for the preparation of micro tubular SOFCs. Supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2006AA03Z464), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 20676073) and National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (Grant No. 2007CB209700)