Intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell using (La,Sr)(Co,Fe)O3-based cathodes

Anode-supported SOFCs involving LSCF (La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ)-based cathodes are fabricated utilizing GDC interlayer on 8YSZ electrolyte for intermediate temperatures. The GDC interlayer between the LSCF cathode and YSZ electrolyte is used to prevent formation of insulating phases such as SrZrO3 or La2Zr2O7. The cell performance with the GDC interlayer was ten times better than the one without GDC at operating temperature of 750 °C. However, the observed power density (370 mW/cm2) was lower than the value reported in the literature. This can be attributed to an imperfect GDC interlayer in the present study. The GDC interlayer was porous and non-uniform, so that adverse interfacial reactions could not be completely prevented. The chemical incompatibility at the interface was evaluated by SEM and EPMA, which explains the dependence of cell performance on sintering temperatures of the GDC interlayer.