A layer of zirconia coting on anode by precision spin-coating was used to prepare thin electrolyte layer of nano-sized (ca. 60 nm) powder and modify the contact resistance of a cell. The powder was ground, dispersed and spin-coated on a (NiO+8 mol% yttrium stabilized zirconia) anode disk for flattening the electrolyte surface. Bi-layer electrolyte, consisted of the nano-zirconia and Tosho zirconia powders, for planar fuel cells were made in thickness 5.4 + 0.2 μm for comparison to the cells only with one layer Tosho zirconia electrolyte. The electrolyte layers are characterized on several processing factors and the polarization resistance of half-cells by electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) analysis. The results show that the addition of nano-zirconia thin layer greatly decreases the surface roughness, interfacial resistance, and effectively improves short-term performance of the cell power output.

Keywords: Zirconia, Interlayer, Electrolyte, Interfacial resistance