Synthesis via Co-precipitation an‎d Cathodic Characterization of Nanostructured LCF for Application in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

4/21/2026 12:00:00 AM

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are considered a promising next-generation technology for electricity generation due to their high efficiency an‎d low environmental impact. The performance of these cells strongly depends on the selec‎tion of cathode materials with appropriate thermal, chemical, an‎d electrochemical stability. Among perovskite compounds, lanthanum ferrites such as La₀.₆₅Ca₀.₃₅FeO₃-δ are promising can‎didates for SOFC cathodes due to the elimination of expensive elements like cobalt an‎d their favorable structural properties. In this study, LCF powder was synthesized via a co-precipitation method, an‎d thermal optimization revealed that calcination at 700 °C for 2 hours represents the minimum temperature an‎d duration required to form a pure perovskite phase. Following the determination of the optimal conditions, Sr an‎d Ni were substituted at the La an‎d Fe sites, respectively, to investigate their effects on the structural, morphological, an‎d electrochemical behavior of the material. Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) was used as the electrolyte, while gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) served as a buffer layer to prevent undesirable reactions. The samples were characterized using various techniques, including STA, XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, EDS, elemental mapping, an‎d TEC measurements. XRD results indicated that LCF samples calcined at temperatures ≥700 °C formed a pure perovskite phase. Similarly, the doped samples LCFN an‎d LCSFN exhibited peaks corresponding to the pure perovskite phase, whereas a small amount of secondary La₂O₃ phase was observed in the Sr-doped sample. Microscopic analysis showed that Ni doping reduced the average particle size from approximately 26.57 nm in the pristine LCF to 24.03 nm an‎d increased the porosity compared to the undoped sample. Sr doping also decreased the average particle size to 24.68 nm, albeit to a lesser extent than Ni. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was performed in the temperature range of 650–800 °C for LCF, LCSF, LCFN, an‎d LCSFN samples. The results indicated that the pristine LCF sample exhibited the lowest polarization resistance among all samples, with a value of 2.189 Ω·cm² at 800 °C.

واژه‌هاي كليدي: پيل سوختي اكسيد جامد، La0.65Ca0.35FeO3-δ، همرسوبي، دوپينگ نيكل، دوپينگ استرانسيوم، مقاومت پلاريزاسيون.

: Solid oxide fuel cell, La0.65Ca0.35FeO3-δ, Co-precipitation, nickel doping, strontium doping, polarization resistance.

Maryam Akbari Aghdam Ordaklou

Dr. Mahdi Darab & Dr. Rouholah Ashiri