학술논문

Nanoengineering of cathode layers for solid oxide fuel cells to achieve superior power densities
Document Type
Original Paper
Source
Nature Communications. 12(1)
Subject
Language
English
ISSN
2041-1723
Abstract
Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are power-generating devices with high efficiencies and considered as promising alternatives to mitigate energy and environmental issues associated with fossil fuel technologies. Nanoengineering of electrodes utilized for SOFCs has emerged as a versatile tool for significantly enhancing the electrochemical performance but needs to overcome issues for integration into practical cells suitable for widespread application. Here, we report an innovative concept for high-performance thin-film cathodes comprising nanoporous La0.6Sr0.4CoO3δ cathodes in conjunction with highly ordered, self-assembled nanocomposite La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3δ (lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite) and Ce0.9Gd0.1O2δ (gadolinia-doped ceria) cathode layers prepared using pulsed laser deposition. Integration of the nanoengineered cathode layers into conventional anode-supported cells enabled the achievement of high current densities at 0.7 V reaching ~2.2 and ~4.7 A/cm2 at 650 °C and 700 °C, respectively. This result demonstrates that tuning material properties through an effective nanoengineering approach could significantly boost the electrochemical performance of cathodes for development of next-generation SOFCs with high power output.
High-performance cathode materials are crucial for the development of solid oxide fuel cells. Here, the authors present a nanoengineering approach to boost cathode performance in conventional anode-supported cells, demonstrating a viable route to attaining higher power output.