Additive manufacturing of Proton-Conducting Ceramics by robocasting with integrated laser postprocessing

• Published in: Applied materials today 2024-10, Vol.40, p.102398, Article 102398
• Main Authors: Pośpiech, Joanna, Nadolska, Małgorzata, Cieślik, Mateusz, Sobczyk, Tomasz, Chmielewski, Marek, Mielewczyk-Gryń, Aleksandra, Strandbakke, Ragnar, Serra, José Manuel, Wachowski, Sebastian Lech
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 3D printing; Laser sintering; Proton Ceramic Fuel Cell; Protonic Ceramics; Robocasting
• ISSN: 2352-9407
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apmt.2024.102398

The summary of novel conclusions:•a hybrid system for additive manufacturing of ceramics was developed by combining the robocasting technique with laser postprocessing;•the ceramics sintering time was reduced to the range of seconds, by utilizing the laser beam scanning speed of 500 mm/s,•promising positrode material for Proton Ceramic Electrochemical Cell – Ba0.5La0.5Co0.25Fe0.75O3-δ – was deposited on BaZr0.4Ce0.4Y0.2O3-δ electrolyte pellets,•single-phase electrodes of various porosity were fabricated with the developed fabrication technique. A hybrid system combining robocasting and NIR laser postprocessing has been designed to fabricate layers of mixed proton-electron conducting Ba0.5La0.5Co1-xFexO3-δ ceramic. The proposed manufacturing technique allows for the control of the geometry and microstructure and shortens the fabrication time to a range of a few minutes. Using 5 W laser power and a scanning speed of 500 mm·s−1, sintering of a round-shaped layer with an 8 mm radius was performed in less than 2 s. The single phase of the final product was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Various ceramic-to-polymer weight ratios were tested, showing that various porosities of microstructures of ∼30 - 35 % and ∼19 % can be obtained with 2:1 and 4:1 loading respectively. [Display omitted]