Electrophoretic fabrication of a-b plane oriented La2NiO4 cathode onto electrolyte in strong magnetic field for low-temperature operating solid oxide fuel cell

An oriented La2NiO4 cathode was successfully fabricated on a dense Gd2O3-doped CeO2 electrolyte pre-coated with conducting polypyrrole by electrophoretic deposition in a static magnetic field of 12 T for use in low-temperature operating solid oxide fuel cell. The orientation of La2NiO4 was based on an anisotropic magnetic property in its crystal structure. Firm adhesion of the La2NiO4 cathode to an electrolyte was made by the co-deposition of starch added as a pore former. The La2NiO4 cathode with the preferential orientation of the a-b plane perpendicular to the surface of the electrolyte showed a polarization loss lower than that with a random orientation, leading to an enhancement in the cell performance at 500 °C.