First Principles Modeling of Pd-doped (La,Sr)(Co,Fe)O3 Complex Perovskites

(La,Sr)(Co,Fe)O₃ (LSCF) perovskites are well known promising materials for cathodes of solid oxide fuel cells. In order to reduce cathode operational temperature, doping on B-sublattice with different metals was suggested. Indeed, as it was shown recently experimentally, doping with low Pd content increases oxygen vacancy concentration which is one of factors controlling oxygen transport in fuel cells. In this Communication, we modeled this material using first principles DFT calculations combined with supercell model. The charge density redistribution, density of states, and local lattice distortion around palladium ions are analyzed and reduction of the vacancy formation energy confirmed.