Highly CO2-Tolerant Cathode for Intermediate-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: Samarium-Doped Ceria-Protected SrCo0.85Ta0.15O3-δ Hybrid.

Susceptibility to CO2 is one of the major challenges for the long-term stability of the alkaline-earth-containing cathodes for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells. To alleviate the adverse effects from CO2, we incorporated samarium-stabilized ceria (SDC) into a SrCo0.85Ta0.15O3-δ (SCT15) cathode by either mechanical mixing or a wet impregnation method and evaluated their cathode performance stability in the presence of a gas mixture of 10% CO2, 21% O2, and 69% N2. We observed that the CO2 tolerance of the hybrid cathode outperforms the pure SCT15 cathode by over 5 times at 550 °C. This significant enhancement is likely attributable to the low CO2 adsorption and reactivity of the SDC protective layer, which are demonstrated through thermogravimetric analysis, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and electrical conductivity study.