Fuel Cells: Electronic Activation of Cathode Superlattices at Elevated Temperatures – Source of Markedly Accelerated Oxygen Reduction Kinetics (Adv. Energy Mater. 9/2013)

A novel combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and focus ion beam milling is developed to probe the local electronic structure near the hetero-interfaces of oxide superlattices with nanometer-scale resolution at elevated temperatures and in oxygen gas environment. On page 1221, Bilge Yildiz and co-workers use this method to reveal the mechanism behind the very high reactivity of the interface between (La,Sr)CoO3 and LaSrCoO4 layers to oxygen reduction at high temperature. The results advance the understanding of oxide hetero-interfaces at elevated temperatures and identify electronically coupled oxide structures as novel cathodes with exceptional performance for application in solid oxide fuel cells.