Method for solid oxide fuel cell fabrication

1. A method of making a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), comprising:

forming a first sublayer of a first electrode on a first side of a planar solid oxide electrolyte;

drying the first sublayer of the first electrode;

forming a second sublayer of the first electrode on the dried first sublayer of the first electrode prior to firing the first sublayer of the first electrode;

firing the first and second sublayers of the first electrode during a same first firing step; and

forming a second electrode on a second side of the solid oxide electrolyte,

wherein the same first firing step comprises placing a stack of solid oxide electrolytes into a furnace such that surfaces of the electrolytes printed with the first electrode face and contact each other and convectively firing the first electrode.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step drying is conducted at a first temperature, the step of firing is conducted at a second temperature, and the first temperature is at least three times less than the second temperature.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first temperature is less than 150 C and the second temperature is greater than 1000 C.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first electrode comprises an anode electrode.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein:

the first sublayer of the anode electrode comprises a cermet comprising a nickel containing phase and a doped ceria containing phase;

the second sublayer of the anode electrode comprises a cermet comprising a nickel containing phase and a doped ceria containing phase; and

the first sublayer of the anode electrode contains a lower ratio of the nickel containing phase to the ceramic phase than the second sublayer of the anode electrode.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the doped ceria phase comprises a Sm doped ceria phase and the nickel containing phase comprises nickel or 1 to 50 atomic percent of at least one of Co or Cu and balance nickel.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first electrode comprises a cathode electrode.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of forming the second electrode comprises:

forming a first sublayer of a second electrode on the second side of the planar solid oxide electrolyte;

drying the first sublayer of the second electrode;

forming a second sublayer of the second electrode on the dried first sublayer of the second electrode prior to firing the first sublayer of the second electrode; and

firing the first and second sublayers of the second electrode.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of firing the first and second sublayers of the second electrode comprises a second firing step which occurs after the same first firing step.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of firing the first and second sublayers of the second electrode comprises the same first firing step such that the first and the second electrodes are fired during the same first firing step.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising drying the second sublayer of the first electrode prior to the same first firing step.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the step of forming the first sublayer of the first electrode comprises screen printing the first sublayer; and

the step of forming the second sublayer of the first electrode comprises screen printing the second sublayer.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the step of forming the first sublayer of the first electrode comprises:

placing the electrolyte into a slotted cassette;

installing the cassette into an elevator which positions the electrolyte onto conveyor;

transporting the electrolyte to a screen printing tool plate;

aligning the electrolyte into position on the screen printing tool plate;

applying a hold down vacuum to hold the electrolyte on the screen printing tool plate; and

screen printing the first sublayer of the first electrode using an ink comprising 80 to 93% by weight solids.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the step of drying the first sublayer of the first electrode comprises placing the electrolyte on a belt, transporting the electrolyte to a heating zone, and drying the first sublayer of the first electrode using a infrared heating lamp.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the same first firing step comprises a burnout stage conducted in a first ambient at a first temperature and a sintering stage conducted in a second ambient at a second temperature;

the second temperature is higher than the first temperature; and

the first ambient contains a higher oxygen content than the second ambient.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of forming the second electrode comprises screen printing the second electrode on the second side of the planar solid oxide electrolyte, drying the second electrode, and firing the second electrode in a second firing step.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the second firing step comprises inserting the electrolyte containing the dried second electrode into a ceramic fixture, placing the fixture into the furnace such that the electrolyte does not contact adjacent electrolytes, and firing the second electrode.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

the first electrode comprises an anode electrode; and

the second electrode comprises a cathode electrode.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the step of forming the second electrode comprises:

printing the cathode electrode on the second side of the solid oxide electrolyte after firing the first and second sublayers of the anode electrode during the same first firing step;

drying the cathode electrode;

placing the electrolyte comprising the fired anode electrode and the dried, unfired cathode electrode into a solid oxide fuel cell stack;

forming glass or glass ceramic seals in the solid oxide fuel cell stack; and

sintering the solid oxide fuel cell stack to sinter the glass or glass ceramic seals and to sinter the cathode electrode in the same step.

20. A method of making solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), comprising:

providing a plurality of planar solid oxide electrolytes, each electrolyte having a first major side and a second major side;

forming a first electrode on the first major side of each of the plurality of planar solid oxide electrolytes;

stacking the plurality of solid oxide electrolytes into a stack such that the first major sides containing the first electrode of each pair of adjacent electrolytes in the stack face each other; and

firing the stack, wherein:

the first major sides containing the first electrode of each pair of adjacent electrolytes in the stack contact each other during the step of firing.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein:

the second major sides of each electrolyte in the stack lack an electrode during the step of firing.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein except for a top and bottom electrolyte in the stack, the second major sides of each pair of adjacent electrolytes in the stack face the second major side of an adjacent electrolyte in the stack.

23. The method of claim 21 , further comprising:

drying the first electrode after the step of forming and before the step of firing; and

forming a second electrode on the second major side of each of the plurality of planar solid oxide electrolytes after the step of firing.

24. The method of claim 20 , wherein:

the first electrode comprises an anode electrode;

the step of forming the first electrode comprises screen printing a first sublayer of the first electrode, drying the first sublayer, and screen printing a second sublayer of the first electrode on the first sublayer; and

the step of firing comprises placing the stack into a furnace, placing a weight on the stack and convectively firing the first electrode.

25. A method of making a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), comprising:

forming a first sublayer of a first electrode on a first side of a planar solid oxide electrolyte;

drying the first sublayer of the first electrode;

forming a second sublayer of the first electrode on the dried first sublayer of the first electrode prior to firing the first sublayer of the first electrode;

firing the first and second sublayers of the first electrode during a same first firing step; and

forming a second electrode on a second side of the solid oxide electrolyte;

wherein:

the first electrode comprises an anode electrode; and

the second electrode comprises a cathode electrode;

wherein the step of forming the second electrode comprises:

printing the cathode electrode on the second side of the solid oxide electrolyte after firing the first and second sublayers of the anode electrode during the same first firing step;

drying the cathode electrode;

placing the electrolyte comprising the fired anode electrode and the dried, unfired cathode electrode into a solid oxide fuel cell stack;

forming glass or glass ceramic seals in the solid oxide fuel cell stack; and

sintering the solid oxide fuel cell stack to sinter the glass or glass ceramic seals and to sinter the cathode electrode in the same step.