Fabrication of ceramic films for solid oxide fuel cells via slurry spin coating technique

Thin ceramic films of samaria-doped ceria (SDC) were deposited on green NiO-SDC substrate via a slurry spin coating technique followed by co-firing. The ceramic films as-prepared are homogenous and dense, without cracks and penetrating pinholes, as observed from cross-sectional SEM images. The thicknesses of the ceramic films for one coating run can be adjusted between 0.8 and 9 mu m by altering the spin rate. The film thickness (h) is inversely proportional to the logarithm of the spin rate (Log(f)) in the range of 3000-10,000 mu m. The slurry spin coating procedure is largely a competition between the thinning and the drying. Half-cells with both 15 and 25 mm diameters were fabricated. In addition, YSZ electrolyte layer with a thickness of 15 mu m was also deposited with a homogeneous and completely dense microstructure by two runs of slurry spin coating. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.