High-performance proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells using the first-generation Sr-doped LaMnO3 cathode tailored with Zn ions

Sr-doped LaMnO3 (LSM) which is the first-generation cathode for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) has been tailored with Zn ions, aiming to achieve improved protonation ability for proton-conducting SOFCs (H-SOFCs). The new Sr and Zn co-doped LaMnO3 (LSMZ) can be successfully synthesized. The first-principle studies indicate that the LSMZ improves the protonation of LSM and decreases the barriers for oxygen vacancy formation, leading to high performance of the LSMZ cathode-based cells. The proposed LSMZ cell shows the highest fuel cell performance among ever reported LSM-based H-SOFCs. In addition, the superior fuel cell performance does not impair its stability. LSMZ is stable against CO2, as demonstrated by both in-situ CO2 corrosion tests and the first-principles calculations, leading to good long-term stability of the cell. The Zn-doping strategy for the traditional LSM cathode with high performance and good stability brings back the LSM cathode to intermediate temperatures and paves a new way for the research on the LSM-based materials as cathodes for SOFCs.