Coating of nano-sized ionically conductive Sr and Ca doped LaMnO3 films by sol–gel route

In this study, Sr and Ca doped LaMnO3 thin ceramic films were coated on Al2O3 substrates by using a sol–gel route as the cathode material for SOFC. Nitrate precursors were used for the preparation of the thin film coating solution, and methanol and acetyl acetone were also used as the solvent and chelating agent, respectively. After the solution was prepared, an Al2O3 single crystal substrate was dipped into the solution. Then it was fired at 500 °C and annealed at 1025 °C for the crystallization. Coated films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), focused ion beam (FIB) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Conductivity of the coated films was measured by the four probe Van der Pauw method. XRD, SEM, AFM and FIB characterizations of the coated film showed that the LaMnO3 phase was formed, surface of the films was uniform and had homogenously distributed pores sized about 10 nm, mean grain size was about 60–80 nm and the film thickness was about 180 nm. The specific resistivity of the film was calculated to be 0.524 Ω m.