Self-stabilized hybrid cathode for solid oxide fuel cell: A-site deficient perovskite coating as solid solution for strontium diffusion

Challenged by the surface strontium (Sr) enrichment, long-term stability of the La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ (LSCF) cathode remains to be the most intractable problem hindering its further development and application in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). To enhance the durability and performance of LSCF-based electrodes, we propose a novel approach by introducing a highly active A-site deficient La0.95CoO3-δ (LC95) thin film onto the surface of the porous LSCF scaffold, simultaneously working as the accepter for Sr diffusion and conformal collector for electrons conduction. Besides the inhibiting effect from the dense coating, the A-site deficiencies reserved in coating lattice enable promising stabilization for Sr diffusion and segregation. At 700 °C, the La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ@La0.95CoO3-δ ([email protected]) hybrid cathode shows a polarization resistance of 0.28 Ωcm2, much lower than that for pristine LSCF cathode (0.36 Ωcm2). In addition to the higher electrochemical activity, single cell with [email protected] cathode exhibits remarkable long-term stability without detectable degradation over 120 h.