Rapid Fabrication of Electrodes for Symmetrical Solid Oxide Cells by Extreme Heat Treatment

Symmetrical solid oxide cells (SSOCs) are very useful for energy generation and conversion. To fabricate the electrode of SSOC, it is very time-consuming to use the conventional approach. In this work, we design and develop a novel method, extreme heat treatment (EHT), to rapidly fabricate electrodes for SSOC. We show that by using the EHT method, the electrode can be fabricated in seconds (the fastest method to date), benefiting from enhanced reaction kinetics. The EHT-fabricated electrode presents a porous structure and good adhesion with the electrolyte. In contrast, tens of hours are needed to prepare the electrode by the conventional approach, and the prepared electrode exhibits a dense structure with a larger particle size due to the lengthy treatment. The EHT-fabricated electrode shows desirable electrochemical performance. Moreover, we show that the electrocatalytic activity of the perovskite electrode can be tuned by the vigorous approach of fast exsolution, deriving from the increased active sites for enhancing the electrochemical reactions. At 900 °C, a promising peak power density of 966 mW cm⁻² is reached. Our work exploits a new territory to fabricate and develop advanced electrodes for SSOCs in a rapid and high-throughput manner.