Development of lanthanum chromites-based materials for solid oxide fuel cell interconnects

• Autor(a) principal: Furtado,J.G.M.
• Data de Publicação: 2008
• Outros Autores: Oliveira,R.N.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Matéria (Rio de Janeiro. Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1517-70762008000100018
• topic: Lanthanum chromites; fuel cell; SOFC interconnects

Lanthanum chromites (LaCrO3) are the main materials used as interconnect for solid oxide fuel cells. However, there are several difficulties involved in the processing of these materials. The objective of this work is to investigate and to characterize the relationships between microstructural development process and the electro-thermal-mechanical behavior of earth-alkaline metals doped lanthanum chromites-based ceramics. Calcium and strontium doped lanthanum chromites-based ceramic powders were produced by solution-based method from respective metallic nitrates. Samples were prepared by pressing and sintering procedures. The phase composition was evaluated by X-ray diffraction and densification level by Archimedes method. The microstructural characterization was made by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and thermal analysis techniques. Electrical tests were used to evaluate the electrical conductivity of the samples, and thermal expansion coefficient was determined by dilatometric measurements. The obtained experimental results corroborate the literature comments concerning the difficulty of lanthanum chromite-based ceramics with high densification level and evidence the great influence of the nature of the dopants on the sintering mechanism and the microstructural and electric characteristics of the produced ceramics. The best ones results, in terms of densification and homogeneity characteristics, had been gotten through multiple doping with calcium and strontium, and in sintering temperature conditions lower that the normally considered to pure or mono-doped lanthanum chromite-based ceramics.