Electrochemical performance of PrBaCo2O5+δ layered perovskite as an intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cell cathode

PrBaCo2O5+δ (PBCO) powder was prepared by a combined EDTA and citrate complexing method. The electrochemical performance of PBCO as a cathode for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs) was evaluated. A porous layer of PBCO was deposited on a 42 μm thick electrolyte consisting of Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 (SDC), prepared by a dry-pressing process. A fuel cell with a structure PBCO/SDC/Ni-SDC provides a maximum power density of 866, 583, 313 and 115 mW cm−2 at 650, 600, 550 and 500 °C, respectively, using hydrogen as the fuel and stationary air as the oxidant. The total resistance of the cell was about 0.41, 0.51, 0.57 and 0.77 Ω cm2, respectively. This encouraging data identifies PBCO as a potential cathode material for IT-SOFCs.