Characterization of porous lanthanum strontium manganite (LSM) and development of yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) coating

Cylindrical shapes of lanthanum strontium manganite (LSM) with varying amounts of pore former have been fabricated by the extrusion technique. Density of the sintered samples was found to decrease with the addition of pore former. Pore size distribution in a sintered sample with 37% porosity was within the range of 2–20 μm. Electrical conductivity of LSM samples with 20% and 32–37% porosity was found to be ∼92 S/cm and ∼80 S/cm, respectively. The thermal expansion coefficient of the LSM samples was found to be independent of porosity in the 20–37% porosity range. Sintered LSM tube was coated with YSZ by dip coating. Cross-sectional view of the coated sample showed formation of a dense layer of YSZ on the porous cathode structure.