Performance variability of Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ cathode on proton-conducting electrolyte SOFCs with Ag and Au current collectors

Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-delta (BSCF) is one of the most active cathode materials and shows significant hydration effect suggesting possible proton conductivity. In this study, the performance of BSCF cathode on a proton-conducting BaZr0.1Ce0.7Y0.2O3-delta (BZCY) electrolyte with silver and gold current collectors was determined. The electrochemical characteristics of the symmetrical and anode-supported cell with diluted silver electrode, silver current collector or gold current collector on BSCF electrode were compared. The significant result is that, although the diluted silver electrode itself shows poor operation stability, the silver current collector has strong electrocatalytic contribution to the BSCF cathode performance on the proton-conducting electrolyte, leading to higher cell performance than that with the gold current collector.