Tantalum doped La0.6Sr0.4FeO3-δ electrodes for symmetrical proton conducting solid oxide fuel cells

Symmetrical solid oxide fuel cells (SSOFCs) possessing the same electrodes have attracted plenty of scientific interest for lots of advantages compared with conventional SOFCs with different anodes and cathodes. In this paper, a 10 mol% Ta doped perovskite-type oxide La0.6Sr0.4FeO3-delta, named La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.9Ta0.1O3-delta (LSFT), is studied as both an anode and cathode for proton conducting SOFCs (H-SOFCs) operated between 500 and 800 degrees C. LSFT is chemically compatible with a BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.1Yb0.1O3-delta (BZCYYb) electrolyte, even co-sintering at 1000 degrees C for 10 h. The activating energy (E-a) of electrical conductivity for LSFT is only 0.44 eV. At 800 degrees C, the polarization resistances (R-ps) for LSFT barely reach 0.02 omega cm(2) in air and 0.1 omega cm(2) in H-2, and the corresponding E-a values are only 1.39 and 0.91 eV, respectively. The peak power density (PPD) of a symmetrical H-SOFC (SHSOFC) using LSFT electrodes is 0.697 W cm(-2) at 800 degrees C. Herein, LSFT should be a promising electrode for SHSOFCs.