FTIR study of the oxygen reduction reactions on Sm0.5Sr0.5CoO3

The oxygen reduction on solid oxide fuel cell cathode electrode, Sm0.5Sr0.5CoO3, was studied by using emission Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Superoxide (O-2) species was detected with appearance of an IR peak at wavenumber about 1124 cm(-1). Moreover, we interpreted for the first time that there would be a close relationship between the baseline shift of IR spectra and the oxygen vacancy concentration (OVC) of the samples. The downward baseline shift of IR spectra is due to the decrease of OVC in the bulk, while, the increase of the OVC in the bulk would cause the upward baseline shift.