Lanthanum Strontium Manganite Powders Synthesized by Gel-Casting for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cathode Materials

Lanthanum strontium manganite ((La0.8Sr0.2)0.9MnO3; LSM) powder was successfully synthesized by an aqueous gel‐casting technique, using carbonaceous precursors. Both thermal and X‐ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the gel‐casting LSM powder formed a single perovskite phase at 850°C, which is 100°–150°C lower than that of the LSM powder prepared by the conventional solid‐state reaction route. The significantly reduced phase formation temperature of the gel‐casting LSM powder is most likely due to the homogeneously distributed and immobilized precursor particles in a polymeric network, promoting the sintering and crystallization process. The LSM electrode prepared by the gel‐cast LSM powder showed good electrocatalytic activity for the O2 reduction reaction for solid oxide fuel cells.