Effect of samaria-doped ceria (SDC) interlayer on the performance of La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ/SDC composite oxygen electrode for reversible solid oxide fuel cells

In order to establish clear criteria for designing highly active and highly durable oxygen electrode for reversible solid oxide fuel cells, we have focused on the effect of samaria-doped ceria (SDC) interlayers prepared on YSZ solid electrolyte surface on the performances of La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ (LSCF)-SDC composite oxygen electrode. Symmetrical cells with the configuration, LSCF-SDC|SDC interlayer|YSZ|SDC interlayer|LSCF-SDC, were constructed. We prepared two kinds of SDC interlayers, one from a mixed solution of cerium 2-ethylhexanoate (denoted as octoate) and samarium octoates (o-interlayer) and another from a mixed solution of cerium and samarium nitrates (n-interlayer). The LSCF-SDC electrodes with o-interlayer and n-interlayer exhibited very similar performances in both the anodic and cathodic reactions at 900 °C. When temperature was decreased to 800 °C, an increase in overpotentials was observed. However, the LSCF-SDC electrode with o-interlayer exhibited superior performance to that with n-interlayer. It was found that the entire surface of the YSZ electrolyte disk was well covered with a dense o-interlayer of uniform thickness. Such an interlayer enables uniform transport of oxide ions to and from the LSCF-SDC electrode, resulting in an enlarged effective reaction zone (ERZ). The I-E performance of the LSCF-SDC|o-interlayer|YSZ cell was found to be comparable to that of the identical electrode prepared on a dense SDC sintered electrolyte disk (as a reference). This observation supports our views regarding the essential role of a dense interlayer with uniform thickness in enhancing the performance of reversible solid oxide cells.

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