Electrochemical Impedance Analysis of SOFC Cathode Reaction Using Evolutionary Programming

Investigation of the cathode reaction in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) by impedance spectroscopy (IS) measurements using evolutionary-based programming analysis is demonstrated. In contrast to the conventional analysis methods used for impedance spectroscopy measurements, e.g., equivalent circuits, the impedance spectroscopy genetic programming (ISGP) program seeks for a distribution of relaxation times that has the form of a peak or a sum of several peaks, assuming the Debye kernel. Using this method one finds a functional (parametric) form of the distribution of relaxation times. A symmetric cell configuration of Pt|LSCF|GDC|LSCF|Pt was examined using IS measurements combined with IV measurements. Different samples at different temperatures and different oxygen partial pressures were examined in order to investigate their influence on the oxygen reduction reaction. The resulting IS data was analyzed using the ISGP program and the resulting peaks constructing the distribution of relaxation times were assigned for the different processes that occur at the cathode side. The activation energies as well as the dependence of the processes on the oxygen partial pressure were also evaluated.