Some characteristics of Al2O3- and CaO-modified LaFeO3-based cathode materials for solid oxide fuel cells

Al2O3- and CaO-modified LaFeO3 were tested as possible solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathode materials. Their electrical and structural characteristics were studied. In the La(Fe1-xAlx)O3 system, specific resistivities increase with increasing concentration of Al2O3. The sintered materials are porous and the average grain diameters decrease with increasing Al2O3 content. In the La1-xCaxFeO3 system, a new single phase, iso-structural with LaFeO3 was observed for x = 0.5. The room temperature resistivities of La1-xCaxFeOy decrease with increasing values of x, up to x = 0.5. The resistivity of La0.5Ca0.5FeOy is more than four orders of magnitude lower than the resistivity of LaFeO3.