Fabrication of porous lanthanum strontium manganite films by electrostatic spray deposition

Abstract

In this work, electrostatic deposition was used to prepare porous lanthanum strontium manganite (LSM) films on a silicon substrate for cathode application in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The precursor solution was prepared by dissolving lanthanum nitrate hydrate, manganese nitrate hexahydrate and strontium chloride hexahydrate into a mixture of methanol and water. The morphology of the LSM film depended on process parameters such as substrate temperature, precursor flow rate, nozzle-substrate distance, and deposition time. The effect of heating temperature on the film's crystal structure was investigated with X-ray diffraction in the heating temperature range of 700 A degrees C to 900 A degrees C. Porous LSM film was successfully prepared in the solution flow rate range of 2 l/min to 4.5 l/min, substrate temperatures of 127 A degrees C to 330 A degrees C, the nozzle-substrate distance range of 3 cm to 8 cm, and deposition times of 1 min to 16 min.