Growth of thin, c-axis oriented Sr-doped LaP3O9 electrolyte membranes in condensed phosphoric acid solutions

Proton-conducting Sr-doped LaP3O9 has potential application as electrolytes in intermediate temperature fuel cells, but reduction of the electrical resistance of the electrolyte membranes is necessary for practical applications. In this study, we focused on reducing the resistance by reducing the electrolyte thickness, while maintaining a preferable microstructure for proton conduction (c-axis orientation and absence of the small-crystal layer). Thin, c-axis oriented Sr-doped LaP3O9 membranes were successfully obtained in condensed phosphoric acid solutions by a novel “two-step precipitation method”. In this method, Sr-doped LaP3O9 powder was artificially deposited on the surface of the carbon paper supports as seeds, and then columnar crystals were grown “downward” in the solutions. We expect that this method will be utilized to produce LaP3O9 electrolyte membranes with lower electrical resistance.