Electrochemical performances of LaBaCuFeO 5+x and LaBaCuCoO 5+x as potential cathode materials for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract

Layered perovskite-structure oxides LaBaCuFeO 5+ x (LBCFO) and LaBaCuCoO 5+ x (LBCCO) were prepared and the electrical conductivity and electrochemical performance were investigated as potential cathode materials for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). The electrical conductivity of LBCCO is much higher than that of LBCFO. Area specific resistances of LBCFO and LBCCO cathode materials on Ce 0.8Sm 0.2O 1.9 (SDC) electrolyte are as low as 0.21 Ω cm 2 and 0.11 Ω cm 2 at 700 °C, respectively. The maximum power density of the LBCFO/SDC/Ni-SDC and LBCCO/SDC/Ni-SDC cells with 300 μm thick electrolytes attains 557 mW cm −2 and 603 mW cm −2 at 800 oC, respectively. Preliminary results demonstrated that the layered perovskite-structure oxides LBCFO and LBCCO are very promising cathode materials for application in IT-SOFCs.