Nanoengineering of a Commercial-Scale Cathode Undergoing Highly Active Oxygen Dissociation via a Synergistic Effect of Sm_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃/Ce_0.8Sm_0.2O₂ Composite Catalyst Infiltration for H

Unmatched superior electrochemical performance and remarkable robustness of large-area (100 cm2) La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3–δ-Ce0.9Gd0.1O2−δ (LSCF-GDC) composite cathodes, optimized via a surface modification method with a Sm0.5Sr0.5CoO3–δ/Ce0.8Sm0.2O2−δ (SSC-SDC) nanocatalyst, are reported in this study. A well-dispersed network of SSC and SDC composite nanoparticles adorns a porous LSCF-GDC backbone, fostering the ORR kinetics of indigenous cathodes and showing substantially enhanced electrochemical performance. SOFC cathodes are upgraded with dissimilar amounts of SSC-SDC composite nanoparticles during single and double cycles of infiltration, showing corresponding powers of 46.48 and 53.16 W at 700 °C and a 60 A applied current, representing a breakthrough in performance for commercial-sized SOFCs. Moreover, the SOFCs demonstrate exceptional durability for up to 1500 h of galvanostatic operation under a 30 A applied current at an operating temperature of 700 °C due to the effect of the composite cathode catalyst material, which inhibits nanoparticle coarsening. This study provides a pragmatic approach for realizing the potential of nanocomposite infiltration to ameliorate the surfaces of SOFC cathode materials to promote commercialization of current SOFC technologies.