title: Enhancing Electrode Performance by Exsolved Nanoparticles: A Superior Cobalt-Free Perovskite Electrocatalyst for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells.
abstract: The successful development of low-cost, durable electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at intermediate temperatures is critical for broad commercialization of solid oxide fuel cells. Here, we report our findings in design, fabrication, and characterization of a cobalt-free SrFe0.85Ti0.1Ni0.05O3-δcathode decorated with NiO nanoparticles. Exsolved from and well bonded to the parent electrode under well-controlled conditions, the NiO nanoparticles uniformly distributed on the surface of the parent electrode greatly enhance cathode performance, demonstrating ORR activity better than that of the benchmark cobalt-based Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ. Further, a process for regeneration of the NiO nanoparticles was also developed to mitigate potential performance degradation due to coarsening of NiO particles under practical operating conditions. As a general approach, this exsolution-dissolution of electrocatalytically active nanoparticles on an electrode surface may be applicable to the development of other high-performance cobalt-free cathodes for fuel cells and other electrochemical systems.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University , No. 5 Xin Mofan Road, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Guangming
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3792-5018
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University , No. 5 Xin Mofan Road, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Center for Innovative Fuel Cell and Battery Technologies, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0245, United States.
authors.forename: Meilin
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6188-2372
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials (SICAM), State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University , No. 5 Xin Mofan Road, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China.|College of Energy, Nanjing Tech University , No. 5 Xin Mofan Road, Nanjing 210009, P. R. China.|Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University , Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia.
authors.forename: Zongping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shao
keywords: cathode; nickel nanoparticle; oxygen reduction reaction; solid oxide fuel cell; surface modification