SOFC anodes based on infiltration of La(0.3)Sr(0.7)TiO(3)

Abstract

Composites formed by infiltration of 45 wt % La0.3 Sr 0.7 Ti O3 (LST) into 65% porous yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) were examined for application as solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anodes. Although LST does not react with YSZ, the structure of the LST deposits was strongly affected by the calcination temperature. At 1373 K, the LST formed loosely packed, 0.1 μm particles that filled the YSZ pores. The conductivity of this composite depended strongly on the pretreatment conditions but was greater than 0.4 Scm after heating to 1173 K in humidified (3% H2 O) H2. Following calcination at 1573 K, the LST had sintered significantly, decreasing the conductivity of the composite by a factor of approximately 5. The addition of a catalyst was critical for achieving reasonable electrochemical performance, with the addition of 0.5 wt % Pd and 5 wt % ceria increasing the power density of otherwise identical cells from less than 20 to 780 mW cm2 for operation in humidified (3% H2 O) H2 at 1073 K. Electrodes prepared from LST deposits calcined at 1373 K were found to exhibit a much better performance than those prepared from LST deposits calcined at 1573 K, demonstrating that the structure of the composite is critical for achieving high performance.