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Effect of Sintering Process with Co3O4 on the Performance of LSCF-Based Cathodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

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Abstract

The impact of the sintering process, especially in terms of sintering temperature and sintering aid concentration, on the ohmic transport and electrode performance of (La0.80Sr0.20)0.95CoO3–δ–gadolinia-doped ceria (LSCF-GDC) cathodes is studied. The ohmic and charge-transfer kinetics exhibit a highly coupled Co3O4 concentration dependency, showing the best performances at an optimum range of 4–5 wt%. This is ascribed to small grain sizes and improved connection between particles. The addition of Co3O4 was also found to have a dominant impact on charge-transfer kinetics in the LSCF-GDC composite layer and a moderate impact on the electronic transport in the current-collecting LSCF layer. Care should be taken to avoid a formation of excessive thermal stresses between layers when adding Co3O4.

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Author notes

  1. Sanchit Khurana and Sean Johason Contributed equally to this work

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California Merced, 5200 North Lake Road, Merced, California, 95343, USA

    Sanchit Khurana, Sean Johnson, Alireza Karimaghaloo & Min Hwan Lee

Authors
  1. Sanchit Khurana
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  2. Sean Johnson
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  3. Alireza Karimaghaloo
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  4. Min Hwan Lee
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Min Hwan Lee.

Additional information

Sanchit Khurana Ph.D. from the Pennsylvania State University in the department of Energy and Mineral Engineering. His research is focused on degradation analysis and optimization of electrochemical systems.

Sean Johnson M.S. graduate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California in Merced. His research interests include development of cathode materials for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells.

Alireza Karimaghaloo Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering k]University of California k]Merced. His research interest is nanoscale engineering of solid oxide fuel cells.

Min Hwan Lee Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Merced. His research interest is nanoscale engineering for electrochemical energy conversion and storage.

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Khurana, S., Johnson, S., Karimaghaloo, A. et al. Effect of Sintering Process with Co3O4 on the Performance of LSCF-Based Cathodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. Int. J. of Precis. Eng. and Manuf.-Green Tech. 5, 637–642 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40684-018-0066-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40684-018-0066-x

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