Layer-structured LiNi0.8Co0.2O2: A new triple (H+/O2-/e-) conducting cathode for low temperature proton conducting solid oxide fuel cells

Solid oxide fuel cells with proton conducting electrolytes (H-SOFCs) show great potential for more efficient energy conversion over their oxygen ionic conducting counterparts at temperatures below 650 degrees C, providing a comparably high performance cathode material can be available. A brief review of current development of cathode materials shows that materials with triple (oxygen ionic, protonic, and electronic) conducting properties are most promising for H-SOFCs. In this work, a triple-conducting LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 (LNCO) with layered structure, allowing simultaneous conduction of intrinsic oxygen ion and electron as well as the extrinsic proton, is proposed as a cathode material for H-SOFC. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis of LNCO shows the good oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity with a considerably low activation energy of 0.88 eV, and an evident water uptake capability those facilitate the cathode reaction process. Fuel cells using LNCO cathode on a BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.2O3 proton-conducting electrolyte render a peak power density of 410 mW cm(-2) at 650 degrees C under H-2/air condition, which is higher than most of the typical cathode materials reported with similar cell configurations. This work also demonstrated a new series of simple and low cost cathode materials simultaneously possessing interesting triple-conduction and good ORR activities for low temperature H-SOFCs. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.