Hybrid additive manufacturing of the modified electrolyte‐electrode surface of planar solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract Digital Control of the surface patterning of functional layers of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), via the inkjet printing technique, offers better efficiency in performance. A combination of inkjet printing and tape casting in a single machine system defines as hybrid additive manufacturing, facilitates printing complex structures. Also, implementing this idea removes the blocking of the print head nozzle orifice issue. In this paper, a highly dispersed and long‐term stable colloidal zirconia‐based suspension, with optimal printability characteristics, is designed to be prepared in approximately three hours to fabricate the macro patterned structure of the SOFC electrolyte. Hybrid Additive Manufacturing is successfully employed to make a symmetric cathode side cell with a modified electrolyte‐electrode surface to reduce the electron resistivity.