Oxygen reaction on strontium-doped lanthanum cobaltite dense electrodes at intermediate temperatures

La0.7Sr0.3CoO3-delta (LSC) powder was characterized by thermogravimetry. Thin, dense layers of LSC were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering on YSZ pellets. The electrochemical behavior was studied as functions of temperature (300-530 degreesC) and oxygen partial pressure (0.21-2 X 10(-5) bar) by impedance spectroscopy. Impedance diagrams were decomposed into two elements, characteristic of the electrode polarization. The low frequency contribution can be described either as a limiting Warburg diffusion loop or as a semi-circle. These results can be interpreted in terms of a progressive evolution of the limiting process as functions of oxygen pressure and temperature, i.e. a finite diffusion process in series with dissociative sorption process. Under low oxygen pressure, at temperatures higher than 475 degreesC, gas-phase diffusion polarization becomes significant. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.