Eco-Friendly Screen-Printing Inks of Gadolinia Doped Ceria

Abstract

Gadolina doped ceria (GDC) is a promising electrolyte for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFC). Dense layers of this material can be economically deposited by screen printing. However, the inks for this technique generally use organic compounds that can raise health and safety issues, as well as economical issues. In order to obtain a low-cost alternative to the generally accepted organic-based ink, four different blends of binders were considered to prepare water-based GDC inks. The systems were deposited onto green NiO/GDC anodes produced by tape casting and treated at 1673 K for 4 h. By choosing the right combination of solvents and binders, it was possible to obtain a dense crack-free film of GDC from a water-based system.