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Enhanced electrochemical performance of La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ cathode via Ba-doping for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

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Abstract

La06Sr04Co02Fe08O3−δ (LSCF) is recognized as one of the most promising cathode materials for the highly-desired intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) technology. However, it is still challenged by polarization losses due to reduced operation temperatures. In this work, a series of Ba2+-doped La0.6−xBaxSr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ (LBSCFx, x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20) materials are successfully synthesized and their electrochemical performances are evaluated as a cathode for IT-SOFC technology. The study shows that, compared to the un-doped LSCF, the Ba2+-doped LBSCF possess higher electrical conductivities at 500–800 °C and display lower polarization resistances to oxygen adsorption/dissociation. As a result, the Ni-SDC|SDC|LBSCF0.20 cell (SDC = samarium-doped cerium, Sm0.2Ce0.8O1.9) delivers a high maximum power density of 0.704 W/cm2 at 750 °C, which is > 30% higher than the Ni-SDC|SDC|LSCF cell. This work reveals that Ba2+-doping is effective in enhancing oxygen catalytic activity of LSCF-based cathode materials, demonstrating a new and commercial-feasible strategy in developing high performance cathode materials for the IT-SOFC technology.

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Acknowledgments

The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51974167). XRD, SEM and TEM examinations were assisted by the Center of Laboratory, Inner Monglia University of Science and Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials and Metallurgy, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou, 014010, China

    Changkun Cai, Manyi Xie, Ke Xue, Yu Shi, Shuting Li & Shengli An

  2. Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Advanced Ceramic Materials and Devices, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou, 014010, China

    Changkun Cai, Manyi Xie, Ke Xue, Yu Shi, Shuting Li, Yuanyuan Liu & Shengli An

  3. School of Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6009, Australia

    Hong Yang

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  1. Changkun Cai
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Correspondence to Shengli An or Hong Yang.

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Changkun Cai and Manyi Xie contributed equally to this work.

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The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Enhanced electrochemical performance of La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ cathode via Ba-doping for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

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Cai, C., Xie, M., Xue, K. et al. Enhanced electrochemical performance of La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ cathode via Ba-doping for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells. Nano Res. 15, 3264–3272 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-021-3972-0

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