Innovative strategy for designing proton conducting ceramic tapes and multilayers for energy applications

Aim of this work is to present, for the first time, the use of Dynamic Mechanical Analysis as a tool to characterize the thermo-mechanical behavior of green tapes defining the process conditions for the subsequent lamination step. This method was applied on tapes of protonic conductors, key-materials for different applications in the energy sector, from gas separation membranes to solid oxide fuel cells and electrolyzers. The pore former (rice starch) content was found to considerably affect the thermomechanical behavior (elastic and storage moduli, elongation to break, viscosity) of the tape and therefore the lamination process. The temperature required for a proper lamination increases from 50 up to 75 °C passing from the system without rice starch to the one with the highest pore former amount. This work identifies for the first time an optimal lamination viscosity (10 Pa s), regardless the tapes formulation, required for a suitable adhesion among the layers.