Synthesis and characterization of La0.5Sr0.5Fey(M=Ni/Co)1-yO3 for solid oxide fuel cells cathode materials

One of the main causes of climate change, which has recently affected the whole world negatively, is considered to be the increase in greenhouse gas emissions that increase global warming. For this reason, it is of great importance to increase the use of renewable energy sources today, where the use of fossil fuels and the transition to clean energy play a vital role. In addition, electric vehicles have started to be produced in our country, Türkiye instead of automobiles running on fossil fuels. Hydrogen, which is the technology of the future, has started to increase in importance in our country day by day. In this context, the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources published the report titled "Türkiye Hidrojen Teknolojileri Stratejisi ve Yol Haritası" on 19 January 2023. Solid oxide fuel cells, in which hydrogen is used as a fuel, are electrochemical devices that produce electricity directly from the fuel. Solid oxide fuel cells, in which hydrogen is used as a fuel, are environmentally friendly, high performance batteries. The current standard operating temperatures for solid oxide fuel cells are between 800°C and 1000°C, and such high temperatures are known to damage fuel cells, thus reducing battery life. The aim of recent studies is to develop new materials for solid oxide fuel cell components with high performance at medium temperature (500°C -800°C). Solid oxide fuel cell components are anode, cathode and electrolyte. The cathode material commonly used in solid oxide fuel cells is known as La1-xSrxMnO3. As an alternative to LSM materials operating at high temperatures, LaFeO3 material is among the potential materials for medium temperature applications. In this study, LaSrFeO3 material was prepared by doping nickel and cobalt at different concentrations. It was investigated how Nickel and Cobalt doping affects the crystallographic structure and morphological structure of the material. Materials prepared by solid state method were characterized by x-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Energy Distribution X-Ray Analysis (EDX), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) methods.