Doped Strontium Titanate Anode for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: Electrical and Sintering Behavior

Abstract

When doped strontium titanate is used as anode material for solid oxide fuel cells, it demands good electron-ion mixed conductivity and proper sintering kinetics. In this work, La0.5Sr1.5Ti1.5Fe0.5O3-δ, La0.5Sr1.5Ti1.5Co0.5O3-δ, and La0.5Sr1.5Ti1.5Ni0.5O3-δ anodes with double perovskite structure were synthesized. The porosity of the anodes was between 38.5% and 18.7% after sintering at 1200 °C in air. The apparent electrical conductivity reached 500–600 S⋅cm−1 at 700 °C under H2 atmosphere and no pre-reduction process at high temperature was involved. La0.5Sr1.5Ti1.5Co0.5O3-δ anode showed the highest sintering activity and it reached the peak rate of sintering shrinkage at 1209 °C. The doping of Fe, Co and Ni elements into strontium titanate exhibited great potential to adjust the conductivity and sintering kinetics for anode materials.