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A La0.5Ba0.5MnO3−δ oxide was prepared using the sol–gel technique. Instead of a pure phase, La0.5Ba0.5MnO3−δ was discovered to be a combination of La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ and BaMnO3. The in-situ production of La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ+BaMnO3 nanocomposites enhanced the oxygen vacancy (VO) formation compared to single-phase La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ or BaMnO3, providing potential benefits as a cathode for fuel cells. Subsequently, La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ+BaMnO3 nanocomposites were utilized as the cathode for proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells (H-SOFCs), which significantly improved cell performance. At 700 ℃, H-SOFC with a La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ+BaMnO3 nanocomposite cathode achieved the highest power density (1504 mW·cm−2) yet recorded for H-SOFCs with manganate cathodes. This performance was much greater than that of single-phase La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ or BaMnO3 cathode cells. In addition, the cell demonstrated excellent working stability. First-principles calculations indicated that the La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ/BaMnO3 interface was crucial for the enhanced cathode performance. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) free energy barrier was significantly lower at the La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ/BaMnO3 interface than that at the La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ or BaMnO3 surfaces, which explained the origin of high performance and gave a guide for the construction of novel cathodes for H-SOFCs.


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Attempted preparation of La0.5Ba0.5MnO3−δ leading to an in-situ formation of manganate nanocomposites as a cathode for proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells

Show Author's information Rui Zhoua,Yanru Yina,Hailu DaibXuan YangaYueyuan Gua( )Lei Bia( )
School of Resources Environment and Safety Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China

† Rui Zhou and Yanru Yin contributed equally to this work.

Abstract

A La0.5Ba0.5MnO3−δ oxide was prepared using the sol–gel technique. Instead of a pure phase, La0.5Ba0.5MnO3−δ was discovered to be a combination of La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ and BaMnO3. The in-situ production of La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ+BaMnO3 nanocomposites enhanced the oxygen vacancy (VO) formation compared to single-phase La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ or BaMnO3, providing potential benefits as a cathode for fuel cells. Subsequently, La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ+BaMnO3 nanocomposites were utilized as the cathode for proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells (H-SOFCs), which significantly improved cell performance. At 700 ℃, H-SOFC with a La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ+BaMnO3 nanocomposite cathode achieved the highest power density (1504 mW·cm−2) yet recorded for H-SOFCs with manganate cathodes. This performance was much greater than that of single-phase La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ or BaMnO3 cathode cells. In addition, the cell demonstrated excellent working stability. First-principles calculations indicated that the La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ/BaMnO3 interface was crucial for the enhanced cathode performance. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) free energy barrier was significantly lower at the La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ/BaMnO3 interface than that at the La0.7Ba0.3MnO3−δ or BaMnO3 surfaces, which explained the origin of high performance and gave a guide for the construction of novel cathodes for H-SOFCs.

Keywords: nanocomposites, cathode, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), proton conductor, La0.5Ba0.5MnO3−δ

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Publication history
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Publication history

Received: 28 January 2023
Revised: 08 March 2023
Accepted: 26 March 2023
Published: 19 May 2023
Issue date: June 2023

Copyright

© The Author(s) 2023.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 52272216 and 51972183), the Hundred Youth Talents Program of Hunan, and the Startup Funding for Talents at University of South China. Rui Zhou and Xuan Yang appreciate the support from the Hunan University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program (Grant No. S202210555343)

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