@article{078e13960dfa438cabe20d25414f0f1f,
title = "Modification of a first-generation solid oxide fuel cell cathode with Co3O4 nanocubes having selectively exposed crystal planes",
abstract = "Co3O4 nanocubes with exposed (001) planes were prepared and employed for use as first-generation Sr-doped LaMnO3 (LSM) cathodes in solid oxide fuel cells to improve the cell performance. Theoretical simulations suggest that the Co3O4 (001) plane has the smallest oxygen adsorption and oxygen dissociation energies compared with other planes, thus favouring cathode reactions in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Experimental studies consistently demonstrate that a cell using an LSM cathode made with Co3O4 nanocubes with selective (001) surfaces exhibits a peak power density of 500 mW cm−2 at 600 °C, while the power output for a cell using unselective (commercial) Co3O4 nanoparticles is only 179 mW cm−2 at the same temperature. The electrochemical study indicates that the use of Co3O4 nanoparticles with exposed (001) surfaces obviously accelerates the cathode reactions and thus decreases the polarisation resistance, which is the key to improving fuel cell performance. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using the crystal planes of metal oxides to improve the fuel cell performance and provides a new way to design SOFC cathodes.",
keywords = "Cathode, CoO, Density functional theory, Nanocubes, Solid oxide fuel cells",
author = "Xi Xu and Chao Wang and Marco Fronzi and Xuehua Liu and Lei Bi and Zhao, {X. S.}",
note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 51602238), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Grant no. ZR2018JL017), the Startup Funding for Talents at Qingdao University (Grant no. 41117010097), the Thousand Talents Plan, the World-Class Discipline Program of Shandong Province and the Taishan Scholar{\textquoteright}s Advantageous and the Distinctive Discipline Program of Shandong Province, the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2017M622139) and the Qingdao Postdoctoral Application Research. The Australian Research Council (ARC) is also acknowledged for partially supporting this study under the ARC Laureate Fellowship Program (Project FL170100101). Funding Information: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no. 51602238), the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Grant no. ZR2018JL017), the Startup Funding for Talents at Qingdao University (Grant no. 41117010097), the Thousand Talents Plan, the World-Class Discipline Program of Shandong Province and the Taishan Scholar?s Advantageous and the Distinctive Discipline Program of Shandong Province, the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2017M622139) and the Qingdao Postdoctoral Application Research. The Australian Research Council (ARC) is also acknowledged for partially supporting this study under the ARC Laureate Fellowship Program (Project FL170100101). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019, The Author(s).",
year = "2019",
month = sep,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1007/s40243-019-0154-z",
language = "English",
volume = "8",
journal = "Materials for Renewable and Sustainable Energy",
issn = "2194-1459",
publisher = "Springer International Publishing AG",
number = "3",
}