The solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are the one of the most promising energy conversion devices which can directly convert chemical energy into electric power with high efficiency and low emission. The lowering operating temperature below 800 ℃ has been considered as the mostly considerable research and development for commercialization. The major issue is to maintain reasonably high performance of SOFCs at reduced temperatures due to increment of polarization resistance of electrodes and electrolyte. Thus, the alternative materials with high catalytic activities and fast oxygen ion conductivity are required. For recent advances in electrolyte materials and technology, newly designed, highly conductive electrolyte materials and structural engineering of them provide a new path for further reduction in ohmic polarization resistance from electrolytes. Here, a powerful strategy of the bilayer concept with various oxide electrolytes of SOFCs are briefly reviewed. These recent developments also highlight the need for electrolytes with greater conductivity to achieve a high performance, thus providing a useful guidance for the rational design of cell structures for SOFCs. Moreover, cell design, materials compatibility, processing methods, are discussed, along with their role in determining cell performance. Results from state-of-the-art SOFCs are presented, and future prospects are discussed.
