3D Printing Enabled Highly Scalable Tubular Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cells

Abstract

Protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs) are clean and efficient power generation devices operating at intermediate temperatures. However, manufacturing difficulties have limited their commercialization, especially for promising tubular PCFCs. Herein, we report a cost-effective 3D printing technique for manufacturing large-area tubular PCFCs (e.g., 15.7 cm 2 ), featured with the use of commercial raw materials, a small amount of binder, and a CO 2 laser for rapid in situ drying. The technical advantages enable low-cost material preparation and efficient achievement of exemplary shape/dimension-controlled uniform microstructures in porous anode support, dense electrolyte, and porous cathode. The 3D-printed tubular PCFC (∼12.5 cm 2 ) exhibits a power output of 2.45 W at 650 °C. Meanwhile, the long-term stability is confirmed during 200 h of operation. This novel 3D printing offers great potential to advance PCFCs from the laboratory to larger scales for realistic applications.