Inorganic perovskites exhibit many important physical properties such as ferroelectricity, magnetoresistance and superconductivity as well their importance as energy materials. Many of the most important energy materials are inorganic perovskites and find application in batteries, fuel cells, photocatalysts, catalysis, thermoelectrics and solar thermal. In all these applications, perovskite oxides, or their derivatives offer highly competitive performance, often state of the art and so tend to dominate research into energy material. In the following sections, we review these functionalities in turn seeking to facilitate the interchange of ideas between domains. The potential for improvement is explored and we highlight the importance of both detailed modelling and in situ and operando studies in taking these materials forward.
Significant enhancement in the catalytic activity of the benchmark (LaSr)(CoFe)O3−δ (LSCF) electrode is obtained by modifying the A-site non-stoichiometry.
Nanostructured La0.6Sr0.4CoO3−δ (LSC) thin film electrodes with higher porosities exhibit better electrochemical performance and long-term stability owing to enhanced surface exchange properties and suppressed cation diffusion across interfaces.
Electrodes
in solid-state energy devices are subjected to a variety
of thermal treatments, from film processing to device operation at
high temperatures. All these treatments influence the chemical activity
and stability of the films, as the thermally induced chemical restructuring
shapes the microstructure and the morphology. Here, we investigate
the correlation between the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity
and thermal history in complex transition metal oxides, in particular,
La
0.6
Sr
0.4
CoO
3−δ
(LSC64)
thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition. To this end, three
∼200 nm thick LSC64 films with different processing and thermal
histories were studied. A variety of surface-sensitive elemental characterization
techniques (
i.e
., low-energy ion scattering, X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy, and secondary ion mass spectrometry) were
employed to thoroughly investigate the cationic distribution from
the outermost surface to the film/substrate interface. Moreover, electrochemical
impedance spectroscopy was used to study the activity and the stability
of the films. Our investigations revealed that, despite the initial
comparable ORR activity at 600 °C, the degradation rates of the
films differed by twofold in the long-term stability tests at 500
°C. Here, we emphasize the importance of processing and thermal
history in the elemental surface distribution, especially for the
stability of LSC64 electrodes and propose that they should be considered
as among the main pillars in the design of active surfaces.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.