Barium- and strontium-enriched (Ba_0.5Sr_0.5)_1+xCo_0.8Fe_0.2O_3-δ oxides as high-performance cathodes for intermediate-temperature solid-oxide fuel cells

(Ba_0.5Sr_0.5)_1+xCo_0.8Fe_0.2O_3-δ, or BSCF(1 + x), (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.3) oxides were synthesized and investigated as cathodes for intermediate-temperature solid-oxide fuel cells. The A-site cation excess in BSCF(1 + x) resulted in a lattice expansion and the creation of more active sites for oxygen reduction reaction due to the lowered valence states of the B-site ions and the increased oxygen vacancy concentration, which improved the oxygen adsorption process. On the other hand, the A-site excess could also result in higher resistances for oxygen adsorption (due to the formation of BaO and/or SrO impurities), and oxygen-ion transfer (by facilitating the solid-phase reaction between the cathode and the electrolyte). By taking all these factors into account, we found BSCF1.03 to be the optimal composition, which lead to a peak power density of 1026.2 ± 12.7 mW cm^-2 at 650 °C for a single cell.