La0.6Sr0.4MnO3-Based Fuel Electrode Materials for Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells Operating under Steam, CO2, and Co-Electrolysis Conditions

Abstract

The conventional Ni–YSZ (yttria-stabilized zirconia) fuel electrode experiences severe degradation due to Ni- agglomeration and migration away from the electrolyte. Therefore, herein, we have considered Ni free electrodes, i.e., La0.6Sr0.4MnO3-δ (LSM)-based perovskite oxides as fuel electrodes. The LSM perovskite phase transforms into a Ruddlesden–Popper LSM (RP-LSM) phase with exsolved MnOx under reducing atmospheres. The RP-LSM is mainly interesting due to its good electrical conductivity, redox stability, and acceptable electrochemical behaviour. In this work, we synthesized the LSM powder and characterized it using several methods including X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry analyses (TGA), four-probe conductivity, and scanning electron microscope with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). Finally, the electrolyte-supported single cells were fabricated and electrochemically characterized using AC and DC techniques under electrolysis conditions. In addition to pure LSM fuel electrodes, we have also investigated the electrochemical behaviour of LSM + YSZ (50:50) and LSM + GDC (50:50) composite fuel electrodes. The single cells containing LSM and LSM + GDC fuel electrodes show higher cell performance than LSM + YSZ. For instance, current densities of 1, 1.03, and 0.51 A·cm−2 at 1.5 V are obtained for LSM, LSM + GDC, and LSM + YSZ fuel electrodes containing single cells, respectively, with a 50% N2 and 50% H2O feed gas mixture. Moreover, the performance of the cell was also investigated under co-electrolysis with 50% CO2 and 50% H2O and under direct CO2 electrolysis conditions with 100% CO2 fuel gas.