La 1-x Sr x Co y Fe 1-y O 3 (LSCF) and LSCF-gadolinia-doped ceria (LSCF-GDC) composites are used as solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathodes. In the present study, to maximize the LSCF/gas and LSCF/GDC interfacial area and thus enhance the performance, we fabricated both single-phase LSCF and composite LSCF-GDC thin-film electrodes using a facile and cost-effective polymeric precursor technique. This method involves molecular level mixing of cations in solution form and results in average particle sizes of ca. 72 nm and 60 nm upon annealing at 700 °C, respectively. For LSCF, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements indicate very low electrode polarization resistances of ca. 0.6 Ω cm 2 per electrode at 600 °C. However, the addition of GDC results in poorer electrochemical activity but better microstructural and electrochemical stability, all at 600 °C. Surface analysis revealed that Fe surface segregation occurs in the single-phase LSCF, while predominantly Co segregation is observed at the LSCF-GDC composite electrode surface.

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Electrochemical performance of La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3 -Ce 0.9 Gd 0.1 O 2-δ composite SOFC cathodes fabricated by electrocatalyst and/or electrocatalyst-ionic conductor infiltration

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A dense electrolyte with a relative density of over 95% is vital to prevent gas leakage and thus the achievement of high open circuit voltage in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The densification process of ceria based electrolyte requires high temperatures heat treatment (i.e. 1400-1500 °C). Thus, the minimum co-sintering temperatures of the anode-electrode bilayers are fixed at these values, resulting in coarse anode microstructures and consequently poor performance. The main purpose of this study is to densify gadolinia doped ceria (GDC), a common SOFC electrolyte, at temperatures lower than 1400 °C. By this aim, an approach involving the infiltration of polymeric precursors into porous electrolyte scaffolds, a method commonly used for composite SOFC electrodes, is proposed. By infiltrating polymeric precursors of GDC into porous GDC scaffolds, a reduction in the sintering temperature by at least 200 °C is achieved with no additives that might affect the electrical properties. Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy line scan analyses performed on porous GDC scaffolds infiltrated by a marker solution (polymeric FeOx precursor in this case) reveals a homogeneous infiltrated phase distribution, demonstrating the effectiveness of polymeric precursors.

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The exponential growth in the requirement of fuel cells and batteries leads to increased demand for cobalt due to its common use in high-performance Li-ion batteries and high-temperature fuel cells/electrolyzers. This sharp increment in demand raises concern about the availability of limited reserves of cobalt which can impact the price of cobalt. Moreover, the geographic limitations of cobalt resources may endanger the whole supply chain. In addition to all those, huge moral issues of cobalt mining are also another problem. Hence, leading battery, fuel cells and electrolyzer manufacturers are looking for sustainable alternatives to reduce cobalt dependency. A more specific limitation is shown in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) cathode materials that contain cobalt. Incompatibilities have already been observed between the cathode materials containing cobalt and the electrolytes in terms of the thermal expansion coefficient mismatch during the transition of the operating temperature from high to low. An advantage of low operating temperatures is the reduction of material costs compared to high temperature. Increasing the electrochemical performance of the cell and eliminating thermal expansion coefficient difference problems are in concert aimed at the development of cobalt-free cathode materials. Therefore, cobalt-free cathode materials are vital for the sustainability of SOFCs and green transition of the energy sector since they can be used as cathode and anode material in symmetrical SOFCs which is also known as reversible SOFC (RSOFC). In this review, we comprehensively summarize the recent advances of cobalt-free perovskite cathode materials for intermediate temperature RSOFCs.

High performance in intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells requires improvements especially in the microstructure of the cathode layer. New cobaltfree cathode materials are used because cobalt-containing cathodes have higher thermal expansion coefficients, poor long-term chemical stability, and lower mechanical stability. Recently cobalt-free cathodes have been proposed to solve these issues by using deposition methods other than electrospray deposition (ESD). In this study, ESD method is used to develop a cobalt-free cathode layer. The electrolyte layer is gadolinium-doped ceria that is deposited with La 0.3 Sr 0.7 Fe 0.7 Cr 0.3 O 3−δ (LSFCr) prepared by 2-butoxyethanol and ethylene glycol solvents as opposed to conventional solvents. Experimental ESD parameters are tested at different levels and combinations by applying statistical experimental design methods to optimize the microstructure. Coating deposited as such demonstrated higher electrochemical performance than similar electrodes fabricated by other methods.