Microstructure and NO decomposition behavior of sol–gel derived (La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3/yttria-stabilized zirconia nanocomposite thin film

(La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3 and (La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3/YSZ gel films were deposited by a spin-coating technique on scandium-doped zirconia (ScSZ) substrate using the precursor solution prepared from La(Oi-C3H7)3, Sr(Oi-C3H7)2, Mn(Oi-C3H7)2 and 2-methoxyethanol. By heat-treating the gel films, the membrane reactors, (La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3|ScSZ|Pt and (La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3/YSZ|ScSZ|Pt were fabricated. It was found that the pre-firing temperature affected the microstructure evolution of (La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3 and (La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3/YSZ thin films. Pre-firing at low temperature resulted in high porosity and large grain size of the thin films. NO decomposition characteristics of the obtained membrane reactors were investigated at 600 °C in reactant gas, 1000 ppm of NO and 2% of oxygen. By applying a direct current to the membrane reactors, NO can be decomposed at the (La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3 and (La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3/YSZ composite cathode. By incorporating YSZ into (La0.8Sr0.2)0.95MnO3, the required consuming power to decompose NO could be reduced.