Fabrication and CFD modelling of a graded porous scaffold for Reversible Solid Oxide Cells (rSOCs)

Freeze tape casting (or ice-templating) is a manufacturing method enabling the production of hierarchical electrodes, characterised with large porosity and low tortuosity, thus boosting gas diffusion. The aim of this work is to fabricate a dense open backbone for the air and fuel electrodes. The manufactured electrode will be composed of a single scaffold that will be decorated by the addition of an electrocatalyst on the walls surface. This new electrode design is expected to exhibit larger structural stability thanks to its open microstructure. In this study, the manufacturing process for the sustainable production of a dense YSZ backbone using freeze tape casting will be presented. The properties of the ice templated electrodes will be implemented in a COMSOL Multiphysics model to study the effect of the new microstructure's parameters on the electrodes and cell performance. Figure 1 shows the cross section of a fabricated freeze tape casted YSZ backbone and the oxygen molar concentration profile along the thickness of a simulated graded porous electrode, respectively.