Method for making toughened electrode-supported ceramic fuel cells

1. The method of making an electrode-supported electrochemical device comprising the steps of:

fabricating an electrode-supported bilayer comprising a porous support electrode and a thin and dense electrolyte adjacent to and contiguous with a first side of the porous support electrode;

fabricating a thin and patterned structure layer having a thickness in the range of about 1 micron to about 40 microns onto a second side of the porous support electrode of the electrode-supported bilayer to produce a laminar composite electrode, wherein the fabricating comprises coating, spraying, or printing the thing and patterned structure layer;

co-firing the laminar composite electrode; and

fabricating a second electrode on top of the thin and dense electrolyte and opposite the porous support electrode.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the thin and patterned structure layer has a pattern structured for providing a predetermined mass transport and electrical flow path through the porous support-electrode.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the thin patterned structure layer comprises an array of land areas and open areas.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the bilayer is fabricated in green stage by a technique selected from the group consisting of dry processing, tape casting, tape calendaring, and screen-printing.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of fabricating the thin and patterned structure layer comprises a technique selected from the group consisting of screen-printing, spraying, and slurry coating.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the step of fabricating the laminar composite electrode further comprises the steps of:

air-drying the laminar composite electrode; and

heating the laminar composite electrode.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising electrically connecting a first metallic interconnect to the laminar composite electrode and a second metallic interconnect to the second electrode.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the second electrode comprises a cathode and the porous support electrode comprises an anode.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the porous support electrode has a thickness in the range of about 100 microns to about 3000 microns.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the dense, thin electrolyte has a thickness in the range of about 5 microns to about 40 microns.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the porous support electrode comprises a material selected from the group consisting of lanthanum strontium manganites, praseodymium strontium manganites, lanthanum strontium ferrites, lanthanum strontium cobaltites, manganese-(Co, Cr, Ni) spinels, and a conductive pervoskite in the general form of ABO 3 , where A comprises at least one of the elements selected from the group consisting of La, Ce, Pr, Sr, Ca, and Ba; and B comprises at least one of the elements selected from the group consisting of Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the porous support electrode comprises a material selected from the group consisting of nickel cermet, copper/ceria cermet, and conducting ceramics.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the electrolyte comprises a material selected from the group consisting of doped zirconia, doped ceria, doped lanthanum gallate, and doped Ba(Sr)Ce(Zr)O 3 .

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the thin patterned structure layer comprises materials selected from the group consisting of doped zirconia, doped ceria, doped lanthanum gallate, doped Ba(Sr)Ce(Zr)O 3 , TiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , MnO x , MgO, and NiO.

15. The method of claim 7 wherein the first and second metallic interconnects are made of electrically conducting material and are electrically contacted with the first and second electrodes by conductive metal/ceramic materials in the form of a mesh, foam, felt, or paste.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the second electrode comprises an anode and the porous support electrode comprises a cathode.