Lanthanum strontium cobaltite-infiltrated lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite cathodes fabricated by inkjet printing for high-performance solid oxide fuel cells

In this study, lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite cathodes surface-treated with lanthanum strontium cobaltite nanoparticles are synthesized using inkjet printing and their performances are evaluated using intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells. The porous lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite cathode of an anode-support solid oxide fuel cell is prepared under optimized inkjet printing conditions. The surface treatment is performed by infiltrating a lanthanum strontium cobaltite ink followed by calcination. The lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite cathode is evenly surface-covered with lanthanum strontium cobaltite nanoparticles, confirming the effectiveness of the inkjet printing for the cathode surface modification. The fuel cell performances are evaluated in the intermediate temperature range of 550–650 °C. The power is significantly improved even with a small addition of the surface lanthanum strontium cobaltite; the enhancement factor reaches the value of five. An electrochemical impedance analysis confirms that the enhanced fuel cell performance is attributed to the reduced polarization impedance, significantly activating the surface catalysis. The addition of lanthanum strontium cobaltite retained the stability of the lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite cell. However, an excessive amount of lanthanum strontium cobaltite significantly reduces the cell performance.