Application of lattice expansion effect in SrCoO3 based cathodes by Ba doping with elevated electrochemical performances for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells

Developing excellent-performance cathode materials is an inevitable and challenging obstacle in the process of developing practical solid oxide fuel cells, especially in low temperature range. In this paper, we introduce barium into the premium SrCoO3-based cathodes and research its consequent effect in the oxygen reduction reaction process. It is observed that the barium dopant could expand the lattice, produce more oxygen vacancies and at some extent reduce the thermal expansion coefficient of parent perovskite, which results from the expanded free space for oxygen migration and weakened Co–O bond by Ba doping. The polarization resistances of single cells with Sr1-xBaxCo0.8Sc0.1Nb0.05Ti0.05O3-δ cathodes (x = 0, 0.2 and 0.5, defined as SCSNTi, SB0.2CSNTi and SB0.5CSNTi, correspondingly) are 0.038, 0.025 and 0.016 Ω cm2 at 600 °C, respectively, and corresponding peak power density of 0.852, 1.054 and 1.217 W cm−2. The SB0.5CSNTi cathode is selected and it stably operates for 200 h at 550 °C. And it also exhibits excellent performance when CH4 is used as fuel and good stability for 100 h at 600 °C. First principle calculations prove that the Ba doping effectively reduces the oxygen vacancy formation energy and oxygen migration barrier. This work proves that the lattice expansion effect is an effective strategy for accelerating the oxygen exchange rate and designing high-performance cathode materials.