High performance nanostructured IT-SOFC cathodes prepared by novel chemical method

The electrochemical performance of La0.4Sr0.6Co0.8Fe0.2O3−δ (LSCF) cathodes with different nano/microstructures is compared using the area specific resistance (ASR). Cathodes are prepared using two chemical routes, including a novel method to obtain nanosized LSCF oxide. The results clearly point that the intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFC) cathode performance strongly depends on microstructure and that ASR can vary more than two orders of magnitude for identical composition and different morphologies, reaching values as low as 0.05 Ω cm2 at 600 °C and 0.4 Ω cm2 at 450 °C using the novel chemical route, which are even lower than the best known cathodes for IT-SOFC.