Nanostructured LSC Thin Film Electrodes with Improved Electrochemical Performance and Long-Term Stability

Nanostructured La 0.6 Sr 0.4 CoO 3-δ (LSC) thin film electrodes exhibit exceptionally high oxygen surface exchange properties, surpassing those of conventional microscale electrode structures, which are desirable for application in solid oxide cells (SOC) [1-2]. On the other hand, the LSC nanostructures also tend to undergo significant morphological changes at typically high temperatures required for SOC operation, leading to rapid degradation in performance. Here, towards the goal of improving the long-term stability of electrochemical performance of nanostructured LSC thin films, a systematic investigation of the effect of processing temperatures on long-term stability was carried out [3]. By varying the deposition temperature (500 °C to room temperature), the as-grown characteristic nanostructures of LSC thin films prepared using pulsed laser deposition can be tuned from highly dense nanocolumnar grains to nanofibrous structures with high porosity. Variations in the deposition temperature also resulted to differences in the proportion of surface-bound/lattice-bound Sr and Co 2+ /Co 3+ at the surfaces of the as-grown LSC thin films; however, prolonged annealing at 700 °C in air essentially transforms the surfaces to a final state with mostly lattice-bound Sr and Co 3+ . Nevertheless, LSC films with initially nanofibrous structures are found to be less prone to the grain sintering effect occurring at high temperatures and exhibit less degradation of the electrode polarization resistance as compared to well-dense films. Using lower deposition temperatures, cation interdiffusion occurring at LSC/GDC interfaces is also significantly suppressed, thus leading to better interfacial stability as compared to those prepared at higher deposition temperatures. These results highlight the relationship between characteristic nanostructures of thin film electrodes and electrochemical performance and provide guidance on designing electrodes with improved long-term stability. [1] J. Januschewsky, M. Ahrens, A. Opitz, F. Kubel and J. Fleig, Adv. Funct. Mater., 2009, 19, 3151–3156. [2] J. Hayd, L. Dieterle, U. Guntow, D. Gerthsen and E. Ivers-Tiffee, J. Power Sources, 2011, 196, 7263–7270. [3] K. Develos-Bagarinao, O. Celikbilek, R. A. Budiman, G. Kerherve, S. Fearn, S. J. Skinner and H. Kishimoto, J. Mater. Chem. A, 10, 2445-2459 (2022).