Ca and In co-doped BaFeO3−δ as a cobalt-free cathode material for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

We report Ba0·95Ca0·05Fe0·95In0·05O3−δ (BCFI), a novel cobalt-free perovskite, as a promising cathode material for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). We synthesize this new material, and systematically characterize its lattice structure, thermal stability, chemical composition, electrical conductivity, and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity. The cubic phase of BaFeO3−δ is stabilized by light isovalent and lower-valence substitution, i.e., 5% Ca2+ in the Ba2+ site and 5% In3+ in the Fe3+/Fe4+ site, in contrast with the typical approach of substituting elements of higher valence. Without resorting to co-doping strategy, the phase of BaFe0·95In0·05O3−δ (BFI) is rhombohedral, while Ba0·95Ca0·05FeO3−δ (BCF) is a mixture of the cubic phase together with BaFe2O4 impurities. The structure of BCFI is cubic from room temperature up to 900 °C with a moderate thermal expansion coefficient of 23.2 × 10−6 K−1. Thanks to the large oxygen vacancy concentration and fast oxygen mobility, BCFI exhibits a favorable ORR activity, i.e., we observe a polarization resistance as small as 0.038 Ω cm2 at 700 °C. The significantly enhanced performance, compared with BFI and BCF, is attributed to the presence of the cubic phase and the large oxygen vacancies brought by the isovalent substitution in the A-site and lower-valence doping in the B-site.