The synthesis of high performance nanostructured oxide electrodes is critical to advancement of energy technologies such as intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells. In this communication, we demonstrate that photo-excitation during crystallization of nanostructured 60-nm-thick La0.6Sr0.4Co0.8Fe0.2O3-delta films leads to a significant improvement in electrical conductivity. Crystallization kinetics is also enhanced by photo-excitation while the crystallization onset temperature remains similar. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.