A-site deficient semiconductor electrolyte Sr_1−xCo_xFeO_3−δ for low-temperature (450-550 °C) solid oxide fuel cells

Fast ionic conduction at low operating temperatures is a key factor for the high electrochemical performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Here an A-site deficient semiconductor electrolyte Sr_1−xCo_xFeO_3−δ is proposed for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (LT-SOFCs). A fuel cell with a structure of Ni/NCAL-Sr_0.7Co_0.3FeO_3−δ-NCAL/Ni reached a promising performance of 771 mW cm⁻² at 550 °C. Moreover, appropriate doping of cobalt at the A-site resulted in enhanced charge carrier transportation yielding an ionic conductivity of >0.1 S cm⁻¹ at 550 °C. A high OCV of 1.05 V confirmed that neither short-circuiting nor power loss occurred during the operation of the prepared SOFC device. A modified composition of Sr_0.5Co_0.5FeO_3−δ and Sr_0.3Co_0.7FeO_3−δ also reached good fuel cell performance of 542 and 345 mW cm⁻², respectively. The energy bandgap analysis confirmed optimal cobalt doping into the A-site of the prepared perovskite structure improved the charge transportation effect. Moreover, XPS spectra showed how the Co-doping into the A-site enhanced O-vacancies, which improve the transport of oxide ions. The present work shows that Sr_0.7Co_0.3FeO_3−δ is a promising electrolyte for LT-SOFCs. Its performance can be boosted with Co-doping to tune the energy band structure.