Lowering the operating temperature of perovskite manganite cathode by doping bismuth

The high operational temperature of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) remains a significant barrier to their industrial application. Developing efficient cathode materials that perform well at lower temperatures is essential to overcome this challenge. Despite the remarkable magnetic properties of La 1.4 Ca 1.6 Mn 2 O 7-δ , its electrochemical characteristics have been largely overlooked. Here, we propose a novel strategy involving bismuth doping to enhance La 1.4 Ca 1.6 Mn 2 O 7-δ , creating a modified perovskite manganite structure. The optimized bismuth doping significantly reduces the polarization resistance (R p ) from 1.17 to 0.20 Ω·cm² and boosts the power output from 109.0 to 1067.3 mW·cm -2 . Furthermore, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses confirm that bismuth doping effectively improves the structural stability of perovskite manganite. The single cell maintains a stable current density over 50 hours at 700°C, demonstrating excellent durability. These findings highlight the potential of bismuth-doped perovskite manganite cathode to lower-temperature SOFCs.