Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)-based ultrafast photonic sintering of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs): prospects for time-efficient/two-dimensional scalability to large-sized SOFCs

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are potential future energy conversion devices. Here, we report infrared vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) for the ultrafast fabrication of SOFCs. VCSELs eliminate the organic additives and densify the laminated multilayered SOFC NiO-YSZ|NiO-ScCeSZ|ScCeSZ|GDC (where YSZ, ScCeSZ, and GDC denote Zr0.92Y0.08O2-d, Zr0.89Sc0.1Ce0.01O2-d, and Ce0.9Gd0.1O2-d, respectively) in just 2.42 h compared to >100 h needed for the conventional thermal sintering process. The process benefits from a VCSEL-based infrared light-material coupling effect, which allows a rapid and uniform thermal heating profile. LSC (La0.6Sr0.4CoO3-d)-GDC composite cathodes and GDC scaffolds for LSC infiltration are also fabricated using VCSEL-based sintering. SOFCs fabricated using VCSELs alone and in combination with infiltrated LSC generated 1.86 and 2.24 W cm(-2) at 750 degrees C, respectively, and performed more robustly compared to the 1.69 W cm(-2) and degradative performance of the SOFC fabricated using conventional sintering. VCSELs offer excellent processing compatibility and show great potential for accelerated fabrication of high-performance SOFCs.

Automated summary

In this study, infrared vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) are used for the rapid fabrication of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). VCSELs can densify the laminated multilayered SOFCs in just 2.42 hours, compared to over 100 hours needed for conventional thermal sintering. Additionally, VCSELs offer the potential for accelerated fabrication of high-performance SOFCs with improved stability.