Mechanosynthesis of Sr1-xLaxTiO3 anodes for SOFCs: Structure and electrical conductivity

Sr1-xLaxTiO3 (SLT; 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) powder samples were synthesised at room temperature by a mechanochemical method from SrO, La2O3 and TiO2 mixtures in 90 min. The obtained SLT samples as potential anode materials in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) were investigated. The microstructure, electrical conductivity and chemical compatibility with yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) were studied. The powder samples had a nanometric character after milling. After a subsequently heating at 900 °C, the particle size slightly increased, but still remained nanometric. At this high temperature, a good chemical compatibility with YSZ was found. The x = 0.2 sample gave the best electrical conductivity values, i.e. 0.23 W cm−2. These features make such as-obtained samples good candidates to be used as anodes in SOFCs.