Impact of electrical conductivity and the electrochemical performance of La2NiO4+δ and La4Ni3O10±δ cathodes on symmetric cells for intermediate-temperature SOFCs

In the present work, the Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) phases La2NiO4+delta (La2) and La4Ni3O10 +/-delta (La4) were employed as cathode materials with Gd0.1Ce0.9O2-delta (GDC) electrolyte for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). Cathode inks were deposited on the GDC substrate by the dip-coating technique. The electrochemical properties of the cathode in symmetric cells with GDC were investigated. The area-specific resistance (ASR) of the La4Ni3O10 +/-delta cathode is lower than that of the La2NiO4+delta cathode at 600, 700, and 800 degrees C, with values of 6.91, 1.22, and 0.23 Omega cm(2), respectively. These values are better than other RP families previously reported. This work combines cathode layers to form multilayers as a La2La4La2 symmetric cell, enhancing the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) properties, which exhibit an ASR value of 0.12 Omega cm(2) at 800 degrees C. We report a performance in a symmetric cell using a configuration with La2 and La4 cathodes that could be a promising alternative for IT-SOFCs.