Conductivity and electrochemical characterization of PrFe1−xNixO3−δ at high temperature

PrFe1−xNixO3−δ (x = 0.4–0.6) compounds were synthesized and characterized by powder XRD, electrical conductivity and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy on point electrodes on a Ce0.9Gd0.1O2−δ (CGO10) electrolyte. As a reference, the electrochemical performance of LaFe0.4Ni0.6O3−δ was also measured. The main phase in the PrFe1−xNixO3−δ series was perovskite-type structure and belonged to the orthorhombic crystal system. The conductivities are fairly high, e.g. around 220 S cm−1 at 873 K for the x = 0.4 compound. The electrochemical performance of the PrFe1−xNixO3−δ series is similar to that of La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.8Co0.2O3−δ, which is a good candidate as a cathode material for SOFCs operating at intermediate temperature. The electrochemical performance of LaFe0.4Ni0.6O3−δ was even higher than that of the PrFe1−xNixO3−δ series and the polarization resistance was 0.14 Ω cm2 at 1073 K measured on a point electrode.