Morphology control of La(Sr)Fe(Co)O3−a cathodes for IT-SOFCs

A La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−a (LSCF) powder was prepared through a citric synthesis route and subsequent media agitating milling. The milling for 1.5 and 3 h reached the average particle sizes of 0.66 and 0.53 μm, respectively. Then, the LSFC cathodes were formed using the two powders in a conventional manner. It was shown that the cathode performance was strongly influenced by the starting particle size as well as sintering temperature. The smallest cathode polarization for both 700 and 800 °C operations was obtained when using the finer powder (0.53 μm) and sintering at 850 °C, suggesting an excellent cathode morphology. An anode-supported single cell with this cathode structure was fabricated and demonstrated a good generation performance under intermediate temperature operation.