Morphological and Physical Behaviour of LSCF-SDCC-Ag Composite Cathode with the Incorporation of Ag as an Additive Element

Abstract

The composite cathode, lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite-samarium-doped ceria carbonate-argentum (LSCF–SDCC–Ag), was developed and investigated for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell (LTSOFC) applications. This research studied the effect of Ag on the development and properties of the composite cathode. The composite cathode powders, LSCF– SDCC–Ag with an Ag addition of 1–5 wt% were developed via high energy ball milling technique, and all prepared pellets were sintered at 500, 550, and 600 °C. The morphological properties of the composite cathode powders were observed via FESEM micrograph, and the average particle sizes of the composite powders were measured via SmartTiff Software. The total porosity (%) of the LSCF–SDCC–Ag composite cathode pellets was determined using the Archimedes method. The FESEM micrograph revealed that the obtained composite cathode powder is homogeneous, with particle sizes of 100–200 nm. The particle size of the LSCF– SDCC–Ag cathode increased with the increase of Ag content. Meanwhile, the porosity decreased in value with the increase of the Ag content and the sintering temperature. The porosity percentage range from 26.6% to 33.8%.