LAUSR

Abstract La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ (LSCF) cathodes on rigid Gd0.1Ce0.9O1.95 (GDC) substrate were sintered to different densities, and their three dimensional (3D) microstructures were characterized using focused ion beam-scanning electronic microscopy (FIB-SEM) tomography. The microstructure anisotropies of the green and constrainedly sintered cathodes were studied using 3D mean intercept length (MIL) method and the two dimensional (2D) best-fit ellipse method and 3D best-fit ellipsoid method. It shows that in the constrained sintering of LSCF films, the microstructures were transversely isotropic in the plane parallel to the substrate, while the microstructures in the thickness direction were anisotropic. Density and grain size gradients were observed and quantified along the cathode thickness direction during constrained sintering. The pores were preferentially oriented and elongated in the thickness direction. The anisotropy factor increased as increasing the sintering time or sintering temperature in the current density range. Cross-sectional 2D measurements underestimated the pore anisotropy, but showed qualitative agreement with 3D measurements.