Structural Engineering of Cobalt-Free Perovskite Enables Efficient and Durable Oxygen Reduction in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Developing low-cost, efficient, and durable cobalt-free perovskite oxides for oxygen reduction reaction at intermediate-to-low temperatures is crucial to enhance the viability of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), a promising ingredient for establishing a more sustainable future. Herein, a highly active and robust cobalt-free perovskite Ba_0.75Sr_0.25Fe_0.95P_0.05O_3-δ (BSFP) oxygen electrode via a facile co-doping strategy for intermediate-to-low temperature SOFCs (ILT-SOFCs) is reported by a combined experimental and theoretical approach. Attributed to stable and oxygen defect-rich structure, and remarkable intrinsic oxygen transport kinetics, the BSFP cathode shows exceptional catalytic performance, including record-level power output among iron-based perovskite cathodes (1464 mW cm^–2 at 600 °C), low area-specific resistance (≈0.1 Ω cm² at 600 °C), robust stability both in symmetrical and single cell configurations, and outstanding CO₂ tolerance/reversibility. The first-principle calculations validate the role of co-doping of strontium and phosphorus for the high activity and durability. Central to this work is the combined experiment-calculation approach to point to an effective strategy in the development of highly active and stable perovskite-type cathodes for ILT-SOFCs and related applications.