An innovative architectural design to enhance the electrochemical performance of La2NiO4+δ cathodes for solid oxide fuel cell applications

An architectural design of the cathode microstructure based on combining electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) and screen-printing (SP) techniques has demonstrated to be an innovative strategy to enhance the electrochemical properties of La2NiO4+delta (LNO) as oxygen electrode on Ce0.9Gd0.1O2-delta (CGO) electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cells. For this purpose, the influence of the ESD process parameters on the microstructure has been systematically investigated. Electrochemical performances of four selected cathode microstructures are investigated: (i) 3-D coral nanocrystalline (average particle size similar to 100 nm) LNO film grown by ESD; (ii) 3-D coral nanocrystalline film (average particle size similar to 150 nun) grown by ESD with a continuous nanometric dense interface; (iii) porous screen-printed LNO film (average particle size similar to 400 nm); and (iv) 3-D coral nanocrystalline film (average particle size similar to 150 nm) with a continuous nanometric dense interface prepared by ESD topped by a LNO current collector prepared by SP. A significant reduction in the polarization resistance (R-pol) is obtained (0.08 Omega cm(2) at 700 degrees C) for 3-D coral topped by the SP layer. Moreover LNO is found to be stable and compatible with CGO up to 800 C for only 10 days duration in air, making it potentially suitable for SOFCs cathode application. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.