Morphology and electrochemical activity of SOFC composite cathodes: I. experimental analysis

This paper describes the first part of an experimental and theoretical study performed on composite Lanthanum Strontium Manganite (LSM) and Yttria-stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) electrodes. Cathode electrocatalytic activity was investigated using different cell configurations and carrying out potentiodynamic polarisation and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements (EIS). Measurements were carried out at different oxygen partial pressures, overpotentials, temperatures and electrode geometries. In order to identify the main steps involved in cathodic oxygen reduction, the NLLS-Fit procedure was used. The results for different cell geometries agree with each other, suggesting a transition in the overall reaction mechanism, from charge transfer to mass transfer control, at a critical temperature of about 750 °C. The experimental results also show a remarkable effect of electrode thickness on the overall reaction rate, throughout the temperature range tested. A grey level gradient along the thickness of the thicker electrodes were detected by analyzing microscopic images of the cells. These results, together with electrochemical measurements on cathodes with different thickness, confirm that morphology plays a key role in determining the performance of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) composite cathodes.