| Summary: | Single-layer ceramic fuel cells consisting of Li<sub>0.15</sub>Ni<sub>0.45</sub>Zn<sub>0.4</sub>O<sub>2</sub>, Gd<sub>0.2</sub>Ce<sub>0.8</sub>O<sub>2</sub> and a eutectic mixture of Li<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>, Na<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> and K<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>, were fabricated through extrusion-based 3D printing. The sintering temperature of the printed cells was varied from 700 °C to 1000 °C to identify the optimal thermal treatment to maximize the cell performance. It was found that the 3D printed single-layer cell sintered at 900 °C produced the highest power density (230 mW/cm<sup>2</sup>) at 550 °C, which is quite close to the performance (240 mW/cm<sup>2</sup>) of the single-layer cell fabricated through a conventional pressing method. The best printed cell still had high ohmic (0.46 Ω·cm<sup>2</sup>) and polarization losses (0.32 Ω·cm<sup>2</sup>) based on EIS measurements conducted in an open-circuit condition. The XRD spectra showed the characteristic peaks of the crystalline structures in the composite material. HR-TEM, SEM and EDS measurements revealed the morphological information of the composite materials and the distribution of the elements, respectively. The BET surface area of the single-layer cells was found to decrease from 2.93 m<sup>2</sup>/g to 0.18 m<sup>2</sup>/g as the sintering temperature increased from 700 °C to 1000 °C. The printed cell sintered at 900 °C had a BET surface area of 0.34 m<sup>2</sup>/g. The fabrication of single-layer ceramic cells through up-scalable 3D technology could facilitate the scaling up and commercialization of this promising fuel cell technology.
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