Cover Story_Cerium-Doped Strontium Ferrate Perovskite Oxides: Sustainable Materials to Face Energy and Environmental Challenges

Facing energy and environmental issues is recognized globally as one of the major challenges for sustainable development, to which sustainable chemistry can make significant contributions. Strontium ferrate-based materials belong to a little-known class of perovskite-type compounds in which iron is primarily stabilized in the unusual 4+ oxidation state, although some Fe3+ is often present, depending on the synthesis and processing conditions and the type and amount of dopant. When doped with cerium at the Sr site, the SrFeO3−δ cubic structure is stabilized, more oxygen vacancies form and the Fe4+/Fe3+ redox couple plays a key role in its functional properties. This review highlights the high versatility and efficiency of cerium-doped strontium ferrates, as well as their limitations and challenges, for energy and environmental applications