Reversible protonic ceramic electrochemical cells (R-PCECs) are promising technologies for efficient hydrogen production and sustainable energy conversion. However, strontium (Sr) surface segregation in perovskite electrodes remains a critical challenge, leading to surface degradation, sluggish reaction kinetics, and reduced operational stability. Developing effective strategies to regulate Sr migration while improving electrochemical performance is therefore essential.
Recently, a research team led by Professor Zetian Tao developed an innovative vanadium-assisted surface reconstruction strategy using Sr2Fe1.5Mo0.5O6-δ as a model electrode. Through surface modification and controlled thermal treatment, vanadium species interact with migrating Sr, promoting the formation of SrMoO₄ and SrVO3 phases. This process creates a functional surface architecture that regulates Sr redistribution and optimizes the electrode interface."Rather than simply suppressing Sr migration, our strategy utilizes the interaction between vanadium and Sr to construct a functional surface structure, offering a new perspective on improving perovskite electrode performance," explained Professor Zetian Tao.
The team published their work in Journal of Advanced Ceramics on October 12, 2026.
Compared with pristine SFM, the reconstructed SFM-V electrode exhibits lower polarization resistance, faster electrochemical reaction kinetics, and improved thermal compatibility. Notably, at 700 °C, the SFM-V-based cell achieves a peak power density of 1.62 W cm-2, Electrochemical measurements under varying operating conditions further demonstrate enhanced electrode performance and favorable hydrogen production characteristics. These findings provide a promising pathway for developing efficient and durable perovskite electrodes, with potential applications in reversible protonic ceramic electrochemical cells, hydrogen production, and renewable energy storage.
About Author
Zetian Tao is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Resource, Environment and Safety Engineering, University of South China, China. He received his PhD degree from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). His current research interests focus on solid oxide fuel cells and electrolysis cells, protonic ceramic electrochemical cells, advanced electrocatalytic materials, and hydrogen energy conversion technologies.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 22479072) and Natural Science Foundation of the Higher Education Institutions of Jiangsu Province (No.18KJA430017). The authors also gratefully acknowledge the high-performance computation center (HPCC) at University of South China for VASP 5 computing resources.
DOI LINK: 10.26599/JAC.2026.9221392
About Journal of Advanced Ceramics
Journal of Advanced Ceramics (JAC) is an international academic journal that presents the state-of-the-art results of theoretical and experimental studies on the processing, structure, and properties of advanced ceramics and ceramic-based composites. JAC is Fully Open Access, monthly published by Tsinghua University Press, and exclusively available via SciOpen . JAC's 2025 IF is 14, ranking in Top 1 (1/34, Q1) among all journals in "Materials Science, Ceramics" category, and its 2025 CiteScore is 24.6 (6/133) in Scopus database. ResearchGate homepage: https://www.researchgate.net/journal/Journal-of-Advanced-Ceramics-2227-8508
