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LaCrO 3 thin films on electrolyte yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrates were prepared by spray pyrolysis technique in the temperature range of 600–750 °C using lanthanum and chromium nitrates as precursors. Thin films obtained at 600–650 °C appear to be a mixture of cubic La(OH)CrO 4 and cubic LaCrO 4 phases, which transforms to pure cubic LaCrO 4 with the substrate temperature increasing to 700–750 °C. After being annealed at 900 °C for 2 h, all films convert to a single cubic LaCrO 3 phase. The change of Cr2p spectra in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis shows the similar phase transformation process. Reaction processes with respect to the substrate temperature were proposed according to X-ray diffraction (XRD) and XPS analysis. The surface morphology of the films was found to depend strongly on the substrate temperature, which would be the deciding factor of the film growth mechanisms.

A uniform and dense (relative density 89%) La 0.8 Sr 0.2 MnO 3− δ (LSM) thin film (84 nm thick) has been prepared on La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3− δ (LSCF) substrate using a water-based sol–gel method, in order to improve the operating stability of intermediate temperature cathode. An in situ static electric field was applied in the deposition/drying process, and found to obviously affect phase formation and thickness of the final LSM film. It was proposed that the orientation of macromolecules (such as chelating agents and surfactants) and the packing density of metal cations may be influenced by electric field during the deposition process.