Electrochemical stability of (La,Sr)CoO3−δ in (La,Sr)CoO3−δ/(Ce, Gd)O2−δ heterostructures

Abstract

A modulated coherent (La,Sr)CoO_3−δ/(Ce,Gd)O_2−δ heterostructure is characterized for the first time for its electronic and chemical properties. 2D-multilayer architectures are deposited on NdGaO₃ (110) single crystal substrate by pulsed laser deposition, resulting in epitaxial structures with in-plane lattice rotation that, via the metal oxides’ interfaces, induces mutual structural rearrangements. Our results show that (La,Sr)CoO_3−d thin films of 10–100 nm are chemically unstable when exposed to air at 600 °C during electrical cyclic stress-tests. Conversely, improved stability is achieved confining LSC in the nanometric heterostructure. Remarkably, the chemical stabilization occurs without compromising substantially the electrical properties of the LSC component: the heterostructures show unexpected electrical behaviour with dominant electronic contributions, fast conductivity and mixed ionic-electronic properties, depending on the number of interfaces and the nano-scaled layers.