• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.283-289
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• 2001

Composite cathodes of 50/50 vol% LSM- YSZ (La$_{1-x}$Sr$_{x}$MnO$_3$-yttria stabilized zirconia) were deposited onto surface- Polished YSZ electrolytes by colloidal deposition technique. The cathode characteristics were then examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and studied by ac impedance spectroscopy (IS). The typical impedance spectra measured for an air/LSM- YSZ/YSZ/Pt/air cell at $700^{\circ}C$ were composed of two depressed arcs. Addition of YSZ to the LSM electrode significantly enlarged the triple-phase boundaries (TPB) length inside the electrode, which led to a pronounced decrease in cathodic resistivity of LSM-YSZ composite electrodes. Polishing the electrolyte surface to eliminate the influences of surface impurities and to enlarge the TPB length can further reduce cathode resistivity. The cathodic resistivity of the LSM- YSZ electrodes was a strong function of operation temperature, composition and particle size of cathode materials, applied current, and electrolyte surface roughness.