文摘
The performance of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) is hampered by the large polarization and ohmic losses across the cathode–electrolyte interface. To minimize these losses, in most SOFCs the cathode is obtained by thick-film deposition techniques. Since the properties of such films depend upon the starting materials and screen-printing parameters, the effect of the mesh opening diameter on the physiochemical properties of cathodes for intermediate-temperature (IT)-SOFCs has been studied. Combustion-synthesized La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−class="EmphasisTypeItalic ">δ powder with specific surface area of 11.64 m2 g−1 was utilized in film formation. All films were porous in nature, and the thickness was observed to increase with the mesh opening diameter. The electrical conductivity showed a decreasing trend with film thickness. Typically, film with 7 μm thickness showed moderate conductivity of 16.4 S cm−1 with E a = 0.1 eV.