ABSTRACT

Getting relevant ceramic performances according to the industrial applications implies to affine to the characteristics of the powder used and a reproducible and cost-effective coating process. In par-ticular, the purity, the particle size, and the size distribution play major roles in defining the microstructure and properties (mechanical, thermal, electrical, and chemical resistances) of the final material. To overcome these constraints, a number of softer synthesis routes have been used for the preparation of key materials. As mentioned in the literature, all these methods are characterized

by a homogeneous mixing of the material precursors, allowing lower synthesis temperatures and give submicron or nanosized powders with high sintering ability. Thus, solution combustion, coprecipitation, sol-gel, and complexing methods have found particular interest because of their versatility. This chapter provides in a first part, a comprehensive review on the synthesis of proton-conducting materials and their impact on processing routes and performances. Then, we deal with the main techniques adopted for processing such powder into tailored layer microstructure as proton-conducting ceramic (PCC) cells. We will see several manufacturing techniques investigated with respect to achieve low costly and easy industrial solid oxide cell (SOC).