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BaCe0.65Zr0.2Y0.15O3-δ (BCZY) have been recently proposed for IT-SOFCs due to its high proton conductivity. On the other hand considerable efforts are directed towards the development of metal-supported cells. The combination of the potential advantages offered by either proton conductors based cells and metal supported configuration has never been explored. In this work the technological issues to produce proton conducting BCZY-Ni anodes stainless steel-supported were carefully investigated. A tailored porous metal support was produced by tape casting. Afterwards the anode was deposited by screen printing and the resulting bilayer sintered in reducing atmosphere. Each step of the production process was thoroughly investigated. A cations interdiffusion between the metallic support and the anodic layer was observed in all range of temperatures considered. The influence of a CeO2 barrier layer and anode thickness on the cations diffusion and a successful production of planar crack-free anode was deeply analyzed.

Solid oxide fuel cell technology offers substantial advantages for clean and efficient power generation. However, the high working temperatures impose severe restrictions on the materials selection. The key to prolong the stack lifetime, widen the selection of materials and reduce the costs lies in lowering the working temperature. Two main approaches have been applied for this purpose: testing materials based on Gd doped CeO2, having higher ionic conductivity at lower temperatures, and decreasing the electrolyte thickness. At present, different methods have been studied for the deposition of fully dense thin coatings. Among them, the radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique is a powerful and versatile tool to deposit mixed oxide thin films in a wide thickness range (100 nm÷10 μm). In this report, the results about the deposition by RF magnetron sputtering of 1÷5 μm GDC films on anodic substrates will be presented.

This paper is concerned with the study of metallorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) anatase film growth, with the aim of assessing the relationship between the TiO2 surface morphology and the photocatalytic properties of the films, particularly their relation to the decomposition of ethylbenzene at 50 mu g m(-3) in humidified air. We have found an interesting relationship between the structural properties of TiO2 films deposited by MOCVD at 400 degrees C for different deposition times. We observed the maximum efficiency of films in the thickness range of 600-900 nm, while in a higher thickness, this activity relentlessly decreased. From atomic force microscopy analysis, it was ascertained that this reduction was not due to a decrease in the superficial area, which showed a constant roughness of films thicker than 600 nm. From X-ray diffraction analysis, the films always grew in the anatase TiO2 structure, but the thicker the films, the more pronounced the (100) preferred orientation. Thanks also to theoretical considerations, it was concluded that the activity decrease in the 900-1800 nm thickness range was due to the particularly strong increase in the (100) plane-oriented crystallites recorded in the same range, causing a decrease in surface energy and, contemporaneously, a hindering effect on photocatalytic activity.