LSM-YSZ nano-composite cathode with YSZ interlayer for solid oxide fuel cells

Abstract Low temperature prepared (La 0.8 Sr 0.2 ) 0.9 MnO 3-δ -Y 0.15 Zr 0.85 O 1.93 (LSM-YSZ) nano-composite cathode has high three-phase boundary (TPB) density and shows higher oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity than traditional LSM-YSZ cathode at reduced temperatures. But the weak connection between cathode and electrolyte due to low sintering temperature restrains the performance of LSM-YSZ nano-composite cathode. A YSZ interlayer, consisted of nanoparticles smaller than 10 nm, is introduced by spinning coating hydrolyzed YSZ sol solution on electrolyte and sintering at 800 °C. The thickness of the interlayer is about 150 nm. The YSZ interlayer intimately adheres to the electrolyte and shows obvious agglomeration with LSM-YSZ nano-composite cathode. The power densities of the cell with interlayer are 0.83, 0.46 and 0.21 W/cm 2 under 0.7 V at 800, 700 and 600 °C, respectively, which are 36%, 48% and 50% improved than that of original cell. The interlayer introduction slightly increases the ohmic resistance but significantly decreases the polarization resistance. The depressed high frequency arcs of impedance spectra suggest that the oxygen incorporation kinetics are enhanced at the boundary of YSZ interlayer and LSM-YSZ nano-composite cathode, contributing to improved electrochemical performance of the cell with interlayer.