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Title: A robust and active hybrid catalyst for facile oxygen reduction in solid oxide fuel cells

Journal Article · · Energy & Environmental Science
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/c6ee03656b· OSTI ID:1491027
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  1. Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)
  2. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); South China Univ. of Technology (SCUT), Guangzhou (China)
  3. SABIC Technology Center (Saudi Arabia)
  4. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
  5. Materials Science and Engineering; Georgia Institute of Technology; Atlanta; USA
  6. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  7. South China Univ. of Technology (SCUT), Guangzhou (China)

The sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) greatly reduces the energy efficiency of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). In this work, we present our results in dramatically enhancing the ORR kinetics and durability of the state-of-the-art La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3 (LSCF) cathode using a hybrid catalyst coating composed of a conformal PrNi0.5Mn0.5O3 (PNM) thin film with exsoluted PrOx nanoparticles. At 750 °C, the hybrid catalyst-coated LSCF cathode shows a polarization resistance of ~0.022 Ω cm2, about 1/6 of that for a bare LSCF cathode (~0.134 Ω cm2). Further, anode-supported cells with the hybrid catalyst-coated LSCF cathode demonstrate remarkable peak power densities (~1.21 W cm–2) while maintaining excellent durability (0.7 V for ~500 h). Near Ambient X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Near Edge X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) analyses, together with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, imply that the oxygen-vacancy-rich surfaces of the PrOx nanoparticles greatly accelerate the rate of electron transfer in the ORR whereas the thin PNM film facilitates rapid oxide-ion transport while drastically enhancing the surface stability of the LSCF electrode.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; NT0006557; AR0000502; SC0002633
OSTI ID:
1491027
Journal Information:
Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 10, Issue 4; ISSN 1754-5692
Publisher:
Royal Society of Chemistry
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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High Performance LSC Infiltrated LSCF Oxygen Electrode for High Temperature Steam Electrolysis Application journal January 2019

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