Highly cycle-stable and robust reversible protonic ceramic cells with air electrode supported structure enabled by single-step co-firing and infiltration

Abstract

Due to the well-matched thermal expansion coefficient and small volume change, air electrode supported reversible protonic ceramic cells (AS-RePCCs) look promising in cyclic stability. In this work, AS-RePCCs are successfully fabricated at 1220 °C for the first time using the single-step co-firing technique. A tightly integrated interface and enriched proton migration network are created between the hydrogen electrode and electrolyte, which effectively promote the proton transfer and alleviate hydrogen partial pressure at the interface, enhancing the performance and stability of the cell. To further optimize the performance, nano La0.6Sr0.4CoO3 (LSC) particles are deposited into the air electrode matrix via infiltration. At 700 °C, the cell with 1.2 wt% LSC shows the maximum power density of 227 mW cm−2 and the current density of 543 mA cm−2 and 1113 mA cm−2 at 1.3 V and 1.5 V, respectively. More significantly, the performance remains stable during more than 60 rapid reversible cycles with a rate of one cycle every 2 h, followed by 30 deep thermal cycles (between 700 and 300 °C), demonstrating the excellent cyclic capability of single-step co-firing air electrode supported structure. This paper proposes a feasible scheme for developing AS-RePCCs with high performance, stability, and affordable manufacturing.