Synthesis, Structural Properties, and Resistance to High-Temperature Degradation of Perovskite Ceramics Based on Lanthanum–Strontium Ferrite

Abstract

This work is dedicated to the study of the properties of perovskite ceramics based on lanthanum–strontium ferrite, and to the evaluation of their resistance to long-term thermal aging. As a method for obtaining perovskite ceramics, the method of solid-phase mechanochemical grinding and consequent thermal annealing of the resulting mixtures was chosen. The novelty of the study consists in the assessment of the phase transformation dynamics in lanthanum–strontium ferrite-based ceramics in relation to the annealing temperature, alongside the study of the effect of the phase composition of ceramics on the resistance to high-temperature aging, which is characteristic of the operating modes of these ceramics as materials for solid oxide fuel cells. To study the properties, the methods of scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive analysis, and scanning electron microscopy were applied. Pursuant to the outcome of elemental analysis, it was established that no impurity inclusions appear in the ceramic structure during the synthesis, and a growth in the annealing temperature results into a decline in the grain size and a growth in their density. During the analysis of the acquired X-ray diffraction patterns, it was found that a growth in the annealing temperature above 500 ◦C results in phase transformations of the LaFeO3/SrFe2O4 → La0.3Sr0.7FeO3/LaSr2FeO8/La3FeO6 type, followed by structural ordering and a decline in deformation distortions with a growth in the annealing temperature. An analysis of the conductive properties of ceramics has established that the dominance of the La0.3Sr0.7FeO3 phase in the structure results in a growth in conductivity and a decline in resistance. Life tests for degradation resistance have shown that for three-phase ceramics, the rate of degradation and amorphization is significantly lower than for two-phase ceramics.