Enhancement of SOFC Cathode Electrochemical Performance Using Multi-Phase Interfaces

Technical Report · Wed Sep 30 04:00:00 EDT 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1253141· OSTI ID:1253141

Morgan, Dane ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); University Of Wisconsin System

This work explored the use of oxide heterostructures for enhancing the catalytic and degradation properties of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathode electrodes. We focused on heterostructures of Ruddlesden-Popper and perovskite phases. Building on previous work showing enhancement of the Ruddlesden-Popper (La,Sr)₂CoO₄ / perovskite (La,Sr)CoO₃ heterostructure compared to pure (La,Sr)CoO₃ we explored the application of related heterostructures of Ruddlesden-Popper phases on perovskite (La,Sr)(Co,Fe)O₃. Our approaches included thin-film electrodes, physical and electrochemical characterization, elementary reaction kinetics modeling, and ab initio simulations. We demonstrated that Sr segregation to surfaces is likely playing a critical role in the performance of (La,Sr)CoO₃ and (La,Sr)(Co,Fe)O₃ and that modification of this Sr segregation may be the mechanism by which Ruddlesden-Popper coatings enhance performances. We determined that (La,Sr)(Co,Fe)O₃ could be enhanced in thin films by about 10× by forming a heterostructure simultaneously with (La,Sr)₂CoO₄ and (La,Sr)CoO₃. We hope that future work will develop this heterostructure for use as a bulk porous electrode.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: FE0009435
• OSTI ID: 1253141
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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25 ENERGY STORAGE