High-performance composite cathodes with tailored mixed conductivity for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells using proton conducting electrolytes

Emiliana Fabbri*, Lei Bi, Daniele Pergolesi, Enrico Traversa

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

152 Scopus citations

Abstract

A new composite cathode material made of La0.6Sr 0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3 - δ (LSCF), a mixed oxygen-ion/electron conductor, and BaZr0.5Pr 0.3Y0.2O3 - δ (BZPY30), a mixed proton/electron conductor, is here developed for application in intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs) based on proton conducting electrolytes. The wet chemical synthesis route allows sub-micrometre particle powders to be obtained, resulting in a highly porous microstructure. The developed composite cathode shows improved performance compared to the reported cathodes working in protonic SOFCs, achieving a total area specific resistance (ASR) in wet O2 of 0.011, 0.089, and 0.6 Ω cm2 at 700, 600, and 500 °C, respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements indicate that several processes contribute to the overall cathode resistance. Performing area specific resistance measurements at different pO2 values allows the correlation of the various semicircles observed in the LSCF-BZPY30 impedance plots to different cathode reaction processes, i.e. water formation, oxygen surface dissociation, and diffusion. Fuel cell tests confirm the good performance of the LSCF-BZPY30 cathode for proton conducting oxide electrolytes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4984-4993
Number of pages10
JournalEnergy and Environmental Science
Volume4
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2011
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
  • Nuclear Energy and Engineering
  • Pollution

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'High-performance composite cathodes with tailored mixed conductivity for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells using proton conducting electrolytes'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this