Introducing Low-Coordination Au Nanoparticles to Improve the Electrochemical Activity of LSCF Oxygen Electrodes

In reversible solid oxide cells (rSOCs), the slow reaction rate of oxygen reduction reaction and the rate of OER were the primary issues limiting their development. Up to now, a large amount of oxygen electrode materials have been studied for high-temperature rSOC, but stable materials that can be applied to large cells are still relatively rare. At present, LSCF remains the most important material for oxygen electrodes in the large-scale production of rSOCs. In this work, low-coordination Au nanoparticles were loaded onto the surface of LSCF. The maximum power density of the LSCFA oxygen electrode single cell at 0.6 V is up to 0.79 W/cm2, 1.58 times that of the pure LSCF-based single cell, and the current density of 1.3 V under SOEC mode is up to 1 A/cm2, which is 1.6 times that of the pure LSCF-based single cell. DRT analysis shows that the introduction of a low coordination number Au not only significantly reduces the Ohmic impedance of LSCF itself but also improves the conductivity of O2–. The development of this work is of great importance for the subsequent development of high-performance and high-stability rSOC.