Medium-entropy perovskite Pr0.4Ba0.2Ca0.2La0.2Co0.2Fe0.8O3 as a promising bifunctional electrocatalyst for electrochemical energy conversion device

Reversible solid oxide cells (R-SOCs) are considered to be a promising energy conversion device that can achieve efficient conversion between fuel and electrical energy. However, there are still significant challenges in developing a promising bifunctional electrocatalyst as an electrode material for R-SOC devices. Here, a medium-entropy perovskite Pr0.4Ba0.2Ca0.2La0.2Co0.2Fe0.8O3 (PBCLCF) is designed to enhance the electrochemical oxidation and reduction activity. Under hydrogen atmosphere, cobalt metals are in situ exsolved from the perovskite structure, accompanied by partial phase transformation (denoted as R-PBCLCF). Characterizations show that PBCLCF and R-PBCLCF can increase the concentration of oxygen vacancies, thereby enhancing oxygen migration ability. Combined with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and distribution of relaxation times (DRT) analysis, the medium-entropy PBCLCF exhibits better oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and R-PBCLCF shows better hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) activity. Furthermore, the oxygen dissociation is identified as the rate-determining step (RDS) in the ORR process, whereas the HOR process is dominated by the hydrogen adsorption and dissociation. The single cell with (R-)PBCLCF showcases remarkable reversible performance. When O2 is employed as the oxidant and H2 as the fuel, this cell achieves a maximum power density of 468.1 mW cm−2 in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) mode at 700 °C. Moreover, when O2 is employed as the oxidant and humidified H2 (30 %H2O) as the fuel, the current density of the cell in solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) mode is −647.3 mA cm−2 at 1.3 V and 700 °C.