Nanostructured CuCo₂O₄ cathode for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells via an impregnation technique

Spinel structure CuCo₂O₄nanoparticles are coated onto porous 10mol% scandia stabilized zirconia (SSZ) framework via a solution impregnation process. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and current–voltage performance measurements have been used to characterize impregnated CuCo₂O₄cathodes. The CuCo₂O₄nano-particles are uniformly distributed on the surface of the porous SSZ backbones, thus increasing the length of the triple phase boundaries (TPBs). As expected, the polarization resistance of impregnated nanostructured CuCo₂O₄is as low as 0.087 Ωcm²in air at 800 °C, and delivers a high peak power density of 1136 mW cm⁻².