Enhanced Performance of La<sub>0.8</sub>Sr<sub>0.2</sub>FeO<sub>3-δ</sub>-Gd<sub>0.2</sub>Ce<sub>0.8</sub>O<sub>2-δ</sub> Cathode for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells by Surface Modification with BaCO<sub>3</sub> Nanoparticles
Halefom G. Desta,
Yang Yang,
Birkneh Sirak Teketel,
Quan Yang,
Kai Song,
Shiyue Zhu,
Dong Tian,
Yonghong Chen,
Tianyong Luo,
Bin Lin
Affiliations
Halefom G. Desta
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Yang Yang
School of Materials Science and Physics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Birkneh Sirak Teketel
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Quan Yang
Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Low-Temperature Co-Fired Materials, Huainan Normal University, Huainan 232038, China
Kai Song
Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Low-Temperature Co-Fired Materials, Huainan Normal University, Huainan 232038, China
Shiyue Zhu
Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Low-Temperature Co-Fired Materials, Huainan Normal University, Huainan 232038, China
Dong Tian
Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Low-Temperature Co-Fired Materials, Huainan Normal University, Huainan 232038, China
Yonghong Chen
Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Low-Temperature Co-Fired Materials, Huainan Normal University, Huainan 232038, China
Tianyong Luo
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Bin Lin
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Recently, Fe-based perovskite oxides, such as Ln1-xSrxFeO3-δ (Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu) have been proposed as potential alternative electrode materials for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), due to their good phase stability, electrocatalytic activity, and low cost. This work presents the catalytic effect of BaCO3 nanoparticles modified on a cobalt-free La0.8Sr0.2FeO3-δ-Gd0.2Ce0.8O2-δ (LSF-GDC) composite cathode at an intermediate-temperature (IT)-SOFC. An electrochemical conductivity relaxation investigation (ECR) shows that the Kchem value of the modified LSF-GDC improves up to a factor of 17.47, demonstrating that the oxygen reduction process is effectively enhanced after surface impregnation by BaCO3. The area-specific resistance (ASR) of the LSF-GDC cathode, modified with 9.12 wt.% BaCO3, is 0.1 Ω.cm2 at 750 °C, which is about 2.2 times lower than that of the bare cathode (0.22 Ω.cm2). As a result, the anode-supported single cells, with the modified LSF-GDC cathode, deliver a high peak power density of 993 mW/cm2 at 750 °C, about 39.5% higher than that of the bare cell (712 mW/cm2). The single cells based on the modified cathode also displayed good performance stability for about 100 h at 700 °C. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of BaCO3 nanoparticles for improving the performance of IT-SOFC cathode materials.
