Cobalt-free nanofiber cathodes for proton conducting solid oxide fuel cells

Nanofiber-structured La2NiO4+δ (LNO) and LaNi0.6Fe0.4O3-δ (LNF) cathodes, which were fabricated by an electrospinning technique, were used for proton-conducting solid oxide fuel cells (H-SOFCs) for the first time, aiming to develop high-performance cobalt-free cathodes for H-SOFCs. High porosity and large specific surface area of LNO, LNF nanofiber-structured cathodes were beneficial for the cathode reactions, resulting in an encouraging peak power density of 508 mWcm−2 and 551 mWcm−2 for LNO and LNF cathode cell at 700 °C, respectively. The nanofiber-structured cathodes showed a higher fuel cell performance and lower polarization resistance compared with that of the cell using corresponding powder cathode, suggesting the construction of nanofiber-structured cathode provided an alternative and promising route to prepare high performance cathodes for H-SOFCs. [Display omitted] •Nanofiber cathodes were used for proton-conducting SOFCs for the first time.•Two different nanofiber cathodes were used and investigated.•Nanofiber structure benefited the cathode reactions.•Cell with nanofiber cathodes showed higher performance than conventional cathodes.