Development of nanostructured La0.8Sr0.2 MnO3-delta-Er0.4Bi1.6O3 cathodes via an infiltration process with different polymeric agents for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract

Dual-phase composite cathodes consisting of La0.8Sr0.2MnO3-delta (LSM) nanoparticles on the Er0.4Bi1.6O3 (ESB) scaffold have been synthesized via an infiltration technique using different polymeric agents for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) applications. It was found that the LSM infiltration with Triton-X yielded well-distributed LSM nano-catalysts (<50 nm) on the ESB surface, while the use of glycine resulted in the highly agglomerated 'layer-like' structure. The nanostructured LSM-ESB fabricated with Triton-X exhibited low electrode resistance of 0.23 Omega-cm(2) at 650 degrees C, which is similar to 60% lower than that of the conventional LSM-ESB (0.56 Omega-cm(2)). Electrochemical impedance analysis revealed that this performance enhancement is primarily attributed to the enhanced charge transfer process of oxygen reduction reactions with homogeneously increased reaction sites in the characteristic nanostructure. (C) 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.