High-Performance and Durable Fuel Cells using Co/Sr-Free Fluorite-Based Mixed Conducting (Pr,Ce)O_2-δ Cathode

A major challenge to overcome in demonstrating solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) to be suitable as efficient and environmentally friendly energy conversion devices capable of addressing pressing clean energy and environmental needs is to surmount chemical and thermo-mechanical instabilities in their operational phase. To date, perovskite-based mixed conducting cathodes, which include inherent Co and Sr elements for enhanced reactivity and conductivity, have been intensively studied. These Co/Sr-based oxides, however, exhibit severe thermochemical expansion and suffer from Sr surface segregation, ultimately degrading the electrode performance. Here, high-performance and durable SOFCs are demonstrated by employing a Co/Sr-free fluorite-based mixed conducting (Pr,Ce)O_2-δ (PCO) cathode eminently compatible with fluorite-based solid electrolytes. The nanocolumnar PCO electrode developed in this study provides not only a remarkable low level of electrode resistance (e.g., ≈0.05 Ω cm² at 600 °C) but also exceptional long-term stability (e.g., a degradation rate 15 times slower compared to the state-of-the-art La_0.6Sr_0.4CoO_3-δ perovskite). The competitive peak power densities of an anode-supported single cell with the PCO cathode are also successively achieved, recording a value of 0.92 W cm⁻² at 600 °C. These findings herald the development of new Co/Sr-free electrodes for SOFCs at intermediate temperatures.