Preparation and characteristics of Pr1.6Sr0.4NiO4+YSZ as composite cathode of solid oxide fuel cells

Composite cathodes of (1−x wt%)Pr1.6Sr0.4NiO4+(x wt%)Y2O3-stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ; x=0, 10, 20, 30, 40) abbreviated as Pr1.6Sr0.4NiO4+xYSZ, were prepared. The composite cathodes with x>0 matched with electrolyte YSZ in thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) better than the cathode Pr1.6Sr0.4NiO4 did. Pr1.6Sr0.4NiO4+20YSZ exhibited the best performance on cathode overpotential and impedance. When the cathode overpotential was 0.1 V, the polarization current density of Pr1.6Sr0.4NiO4+20YSZ was 0.28 A cm−2, which is about 5.6 times higher than that of Pr1.6Sr0.4NiO4, 0.05 A cm−2. The area-specific resistance (ASR) for Pr1.6Sr0.4NiO4+20YSZ was about 17.7% of that for Pr1.6Sr0.4NiO4 at 750 °C.