(La0.85Sr0.15)(0.9)MnO3-delta(LSM)-Sm0.2Ce0.8O1.9(SDC) composite electrodes were fabricated for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cells with a two-step fabricating process, including screen-printing and ion-impregnating. The ion-impregnated LSM-SDC electrodes showed better performance than those fabricated with conventional techniques. At 700 degrees C, the interfacial polarization resistance was only 0.23 Omega cm(2) for an ionimpregnated cathode, while it was 0.72 Omega cm(2) for a sol-gel derived cathode and 0.75 Omega cm(2) for a slurry-coated cathode. The performance was gradually improved by increasing the amount of impregnated SDC. Impedance spectroscopy was used to study the oxygen reduction kinetics within the LSM-SDC electrodes. Oxygen ion transfer, charge transfer and surface diffusion of oxygen ions were found to be possible rate-limiting steps for the high-frequency arc, intermediate-frequency arc, and low-frequency arc of the impedance spectra. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.