High performance solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) based on gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) electrolyte are demonstrated for intermediate temperature operation. The inherent technical limitations of the GDC electrolyte in sinterability and mechanical properties are overcome by applying sol-gel coating technique to the screen-printed film. When the quality of the electrolyte film is enhanced by the additional sol gel coating, the OCV and maximum power density increase from 0.73 to 0.90 V and from 0.55 to 0.95 W cm(-2), respectively, at 650 degrees C with humidified hydrogen (3% H2O) as fuel and air as oxidant. The impedance analysis reveals that the reinforcement of the thin electrolyte with sol-gel coating significantly reduces the polarization resistance. Elementary reaction steps for the anode and cathode are analyzed based on the systematic impedance study, and the relation between the structural integrity of the electrolyte and the electrode polarization is discussed in detail. Copyright (C) 2013, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.