A high performance air electrode fabricated by infiltration of highly active nano-catalysts into a porous scaffold is demonstrated for high-temperature solid oxide regenerative fuel cells (SORFCs). The nitrate precursor solution for Sm0.5Sr0.5CoO3 (SSC) catalyst is impregnated into a porous La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3 (LSCF) gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) composite backbone, and extremely fine SSC nano-particles are uniformly synthesized by in-situ crystallization at the initial stage of SORFC operation via homogeneous nucleation induced by urea decomposition. The SSC nano-catalysts are in the size range of 40-80 am and stable against coarsening upon the SORFC operation at 750 degrees C. The electrochemical performance is significantly improved by incorporation of SSC nano-catalysts in both power generation and hydrogen production modes. Systematic analysis on the impedance spectra reveals that the surface modification of the air electrode with nano-catalysts remarkably accelerates the chemical surface exchange reactions for both O-2 reduction and O2- oxidation, which are the major limiting processes for SORFC performance. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.