Review on MIEC Cathode Materials for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Abstract

The cathode is one of the most important components of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The reduction of oxygen at the cathode (traditional cathodes like LSM, LSGM, etc.) is the slow step in the cell reaction at intermediate temperature (600–800∘C) which is one of the key obstacles to the development of SOFCs. The mixed ionic and electronic conducting cathode (MIEC) like LSCF, BSCF, etc., has recently been proposed as a promising cathode material for SOFC due to the improvement of the kinetic of the cathode reaction. The MIEC materials provide not only the electrons for the reduction of oxygen, but also the ionic conduction required to ensure the transport of the formed oxygen ions and thereby improves the overall electrochemical performance of SOFC system. The characteristics of MIEC cathode materials and its comparison with other traditional cathode materials is studied and presented in the paper.