Effect of annealing temperature on the structural and electrical properties of mesoporous La0.7Sr0.3MnO3

The structural and electrical properties of mesoporous La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) films for electrode applications were investigated as a function of annealing temperature. Mesoporous LSMO films were successfully synthesized by using sol–gel and evaporation-induced self-assembly processes. Metal acetates and Brij-S10 were used as the starting material and pore structure-forming template, respectively. With the adoption of mesoporous structure in the LSMO film, the surface area of mesoporous LSMO films was increased up to 165% with an annealing temperature increase from 350 to 650°C. The electrical conductivity value of mesoporous LSMO was determined to be 46 S/cm at a measurement temperature of 500°C. This greatly increased the surface area and provided reasonable electrical conductivity, which makes mesoporous LSMO films suitable as electrode materials of micro-solid oxide fuel cell devices.