A Heavily Substituted Manganite in an Ordered Nanocomposite for Long-Term Energy Applications

<div>The implementation of nano-engineered composite oxides opens up the way towards the development of</div><div>a novel class of superior energy materials. Vertically aligned nanocomposites are characterized by a</div><div>coherent, dense array of vertical interfaces, which allows for the extension of local effects to the whole</div><div>volume of the material. Here, we use such a unique architecture to fabricate highly electrochemically</div><div>active nanocomposites of lanthanum strontium manganite and doped ceria with unprecedented stability</div><div>and straight applicability as functional layers in solid state energy devices. Direct evidence of synergistic</div><div>local effects for enhancing the electrochemical performance, stemming from the highly ordered phase</div><div>alternation, is given here for the first time using atom-probe tomography combined with oxygen isotopic</div><div>exchange. Interface-induced cationic substitution, enabling lattice stabilization, is presented as the origin</div><div>of the observed long-term stability. These findings reveal a novel route for materials nano-engineering</div><div>based on the coexistence between local disorder and long-range arrangement.</div>