(La0.75Sr0.25)0.95(Cr0.5Mn0.5)O3-δ-Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 scaffolded composite cathode for high temperature CO2 electroreduction in solid oxide electrolysis cell

Abstract

As a promising cathode material for CO2 electroreduction in solid oxide electrolysis cell, (La,Sr) (Cr,Mn)O3 perovskite usually suffers from insufficient electrocatalytic activity and poor stability. We report here that a (La,Sr) (Cr,Mn)O3-based scaffolded composite cathode fabricated through co-loading (La0.75Sr0.25)0.95(Cr0.5Mn0.5)O3-δ-Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 composite within the porous yttria-stabilized zirconia scaffold, enables the electrolyte-supported solid oxide electrolysis cell to exhibit high electrocatalytic activity and stability towards CO2 electroreduction in comparison with the conventional (La0.75Sr0.25)0.95(Cr0.5Mn0.5)O3-δ-Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 cathode. This scaffolded architecture design provides micro-sized pores for CO2 transportation, well-connected yttria-stabilized zirconia network for oxygen ion conduction, (La0.75Sr0.25)0.95(Cr0.5Mn0.5)O3-δ-Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 composite catalyst layer for creating highly active (La0.75Sr0.25)0.95(Cr0.5Mn0.5)O3-δ-Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9-gas three-phase boundaries and increasing surface oxygen vacancies concentration. Furthermore, the intimate interaction between (La0.75Sr0.25)0.95(Cr0.5Mn0.5)O3-δ and Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 nanoparticles in the composites effectively suppresses particles aggregation. The (La0.75Sr0.25)0.95(Cr0.5Mn0.5)O3-δ perovskite-Ce0.8Gd0.2O1.9 fluorite scaffolded composite cathode offers a promising approach to prepare highly active and stable (La,Sr) (Cr,Mn)O3 based cathode for CO2 electroreduction in high temperature solid oxide electrolysis cell.