Ultrafast sintering of 3D-printed 8YSZ for solid oxide fuel cells

Ceramic materials are key in energy technologies such as solid oxide cells or all-solid-state batteries. Recent advances in 3D-printing have pushed their potential, enabling unprecedented complex and customizable geometries. However, 3D-printing of ceramics involves remarkably long heat treatments, which limit their implementation. In this work, ultrafast high-temperature sintering was successfully employed to develop 3D-printed solid oxide electrolytes treated in less than 15 min, for the first time. The optimal sintering conditions resulted in > 96 % densification preserving structural integrity. Despite the presence of intragranular porosity, ascribed to the non-equilibrium conditions of the process, the final ionic conductivity remained within the expected range for 8YSZ. Additionally, the complete UHS 3D-printed electrolyte-supported cell demonstrated a peak power density exceeding 0.5 W·cm −2 at 900 °C, surpassing previously reported performances of similar systems. This highlights the potential of UHS as a final ceramic processing method to obtain highly densified and conductive materials with full functionality.