| Summary: | Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have emerged as highly promising contenders in the field of energy conversion, offering enhanced efficiency and environmental sustainability. A considerable amount of effort has been devoted to developing a version of SOFC that operates
at intermediate temperatures. Thus, new material development is necessary to enhance cell performance due to limited operating temperatures. The primary objective of this study is to identify the potential of samarium strontium cobaltite (SSC), gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) and samarium-doped ceria (SDC), i.e. SSC/GDC–SDC dual composite, as a cathode material for intermediate-temperature SOFC (IT-SOFC). SSC/GDC–SDC dual composite cathode powders were developed through high-energy ball milling and mixing at a fixed weight ratio of 50% SSC and 50% GDC–SDC. Meanwhile, the weight ratio of the GDC–SDC electrolyte powders used in this study was within the range of 50%–70% GDC. The dual composite cathode powders were calcined at 750 °C, and pellets were sintered at 600 °C. The chemical compatibility and microstructure properties of the composite powders were examined via Xray diffraction and scanning electron microscope, respectively. The porosity and density of the composite cathode pellets were also measured. A good chemical compatibility between the
SSC cathode and GDC–SDC electrolyte powders was observed when no secondary phase existed after the mixing of the dual composite cathode powders. The dual composite cathodes produced an acceptable porosity (40%–50%) of the cathode component for SOFC application. Finally, the findings of this study significantly contribute to the investigation of SSC/GDC– SDC as a potential dual composite cathode material for IT-SOFCs.
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