Lanthanum strontium manganite powders synthesized by gel-casting for solid oxide fuel cell cathode materials

Lanthanum strontium manganite ((La0.8Sr0.2)(0.9)MnO3; LSM) powder was successfully synthesized by an aqueous gel-casting technique, using carbonaceous precursors. Both thermal and X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the gel-casting LSM powder formed a single perovskite phase at 850 degrees C, which is 100 degrees-150 degrees C lower than that of the LSM powder prepared by the conventional solid-state reaction route. The significantly reduced phase formation temperature of the gel-casting LSM powder is most likely due to the homogeneously distributed and immobilized precursor particles in a polymeric network, promoting the sintering and crystallization process. The LSM electrode prepared by the gel-cast LSM powder showed good electrocatalytic activity for the O-2 reduction reaction for solid oxide fuel cells.