Diffusion studies by EDS and LA-ICP-MS across the La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 / La0.83Sr0.17Ga0.83Mg0.17O2.83 interface

Energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) line scan and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) were applied to the study of chemical reactivity and elemental interdiffusion at the interface between La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 (LSM) and La0.83Sr0.17Ga0.83Mg0.17O2.83 (LSGM), which are typical materials for intermediate temperature – solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFC). LSM and LSGM were synthesized by solid state and co-precipitation routes, respectively, and their characterization was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The study focused on the interface reactivity of pellet/film and film/film configuration interfaces. The samples were fired at 1300 °C for a few hours and the chemical interaction and cation interdiffusion was evaluated with the two above mentioned independent techniques. Both methods reveal moderate diffusion of Mn into the LSGM matrix and possibly a small counter-diffusion of Ga ions into the LSM matrix.