Abstract
Perovskite LaCoO materials have various applications, from selective permeable membranes and gas sensing devices to water splitting applications. However, the intrinsic electrical resistivity of the perovskite limits the applicative potential. To overcome that, Ag powder was used with LaCoO to obtain porous composite electrodes with enhanced conductivities. For that, a series of composite Ag-LaCoO powders were prepared into pellets and pre-sintered at various temperatures up to 1000 C. Their structural properties and morphology were investigated by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The electronic transport of compacted specimens was studied by impedance spectroscopy. The results indicate that the presence of Ag acts as pre-sintering additive to obtain porous electrodes, with porosity values as high as 40% at 50 vol. % Ag. Moreover, the overall electrical resistivity of the composite electrodes varied well over four orders of magnitude. The results are discussed within the generalized Bruggeman theory for effective media comprising arbitrarily shaped metallic and semiconducting inclusions.
Highlights
Perovskite materials have opened the avenue of many modern research fields and discoveries, from high temperature superconductors and colossal magnetoresistance to ferroelectricity and spin dependent transport [1,2,3,4]
In a search for alternative and renewable energy sources, perovskite materials are investigated as potential candidates for use in both photovoltaic and photocatalytic water splitting applications [12,13,14,15]
We showed that single-phase perovskite LaCoO3 powders are readily obtained from lanthanum and cobalt oxide precursors by one-step solid-state synthesis at 1000 ◦ C for 8 h [44,45]
Summary
Perovskite materials have opened the avenue of many modern research fields and discoveries, from high temperature superconductors and colossal magnetoresistance to ferroelectricity and spin dependent transport [1,2,3,4]. Among Co-based perovskites with potential application in clean energy harvesting, LaCoO3 has been shown to exhibit good electrochemical stability and catalytic activity towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media [18,19,20,21]. This makes it especially attractive to be used as anode material in electrolysis cells for medium and large scale hydrogen production stations, replacing more expensive catalysts based on ruthenium and iridium oxides [22,23,24].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
