Electro-spinning Pr0.4ASr0.6CO0.2Fe0.7Nb0.1O3-δ nanofibers infiltrated with Gd0.2Ce0.8O1.9 nanoparticles as cathode for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell

Pr0.4Sr0.6Co0.2Fe0.7Nb0.1O3-delta (PSCFN) nanofibers and their corresponding Pr0.4Sr0.6Co0.2Fe0.7Nb0.1O3-delta-Gd0.2Ce0.8O1.9 (PSCFN-GDC) composites have been synthesized and applied as cathodes for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). In this paper, PSCFN nanofibers were obtained through electro-spinning and the following pyrolysis process. The resultant PSCFN nanofibers were infiltrated with GDC precursor to prepare nanofiber-structured PSCFN-GDC composite cathodes. The optimal PSCFN: GDC mass ratio of 1: 0.10 was identified to possess the lowest interfacial polarization resistances of 0.264, 0.155, 0.039 and 0.018 Omega cm(2) at 650, 700, 750 and 800 degrees C, respectively, lower than those of the PSCFN-GDC nanoparticle-structured composite cathode. The PSCFN-GDC (1: 0.10) shows an excellent stability of electrochemical activity under a current density of 200 mA cm(-2) for 100 h at 800 degrees C. All results proved that the nanofiber-structured PSCFN-GDC composite could act as a highly efficient cathode candidate for the IT-SOFCs. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.