A review on preparation of SDC-carbonate as composite electrolyte material for intermediate temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (IT-SOFC)

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) is a promising technology with unique characteristics to generate electricity by combining fuel and oxygen ions in an electrochemical reaction. However, ceramic based fuel cells generally operate at high temperatures above 800°C. Recent researches have given much improvement in reducing the temperature and lowering the manufacturing costs by developing new materials to commercialize SOFCs. The overall performance of the cell depends on each component in the cell. Composite electrolytes based on a mixture of samarium-doped ceria (SDC)-carbonate is the most commonly used electrolyte for SOFCs operating at low temperatures. High conductivity and electrical insulation are the two important needs for an electrolyte to yield better performance based on the purity of prepared SDC powders. This paper reviews several different methods for preparing pure SDC powders. The advantages and disadvantages of each method and its electrical chemical performance at low temperature are discussed.