High performance La3Ni2O7 cathode prepared by a facile sol-gel method for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells

La3Ni2O7 oxide has been synthesized by a facile sol-gel method using a nonionic surfactant (EO)106(PO) 70(EO)106 tri-block copolymer (Pluronic F127) as the chelating agent. The pure phase of La3Ni2O7 has been obtained by sintering at temperatures of 1100 degrees C for 12 h. La3Ni2O7 oxide as a cathode presents no visible reaction with an Y2O3-stabilized ZrO2 (YSZ) electrolyte. The electrochemical performance of the prepared oxide as a cathode has been investigated. Area specific resistance of La3Ni2O7 material on YSZ electrolyte is as low as 0.39 Omega cm(2) at 750 degrees C. Furthermore, an anode-supported single-cell configuration of NiO-YSZ/YSZ/La3Ni2O7 has been achieved a maximum power density of 848 mW cm(-2) at 750 degrees C. The cell performance was stable under a constant current of 0.6 A cm(-2) for over 30 h at 750 degrees C. These results therefore suggest that La3Ni2O7 synthesized by this sol-gel method is a highly promising cathode material for applications in IT-SOFCs. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.