Gadolinia-doped ceria barrier layer produced by sputtering and annealing for anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells

We prepared gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) barrier layers by sputtering and annealing at various temperatures. We then investigated the effects of the GDC barrier layers on the performance of anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells. Sputtering at 200 °C readily produced a uniform, thin layer of cubic GDC. Sputtering and annealing at 900–1100 °C formed uniform, thin, dense films, which effectively prevented the reaction between the yttria-stabilized zirconia electrolyte and the Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3–δ cathode. The single cells assembled with the thin, dense GDC barrier layers sputtered at 200 °C and annealed at 900–1000 °C exhibited excellent electrochemical performance.