Long-term ageing and materials degradation of hybrid mica compressive seals for solid oxide fuel cells

Hybrid phlogopite mica seals with silver interlayers were evaluated in long-term isothermal ageing tests in a dual environment consisting of dilute hydrogen versus air at 800 °C. High-temperature leak tests with helium showed very stable leakage of 0.01–0.02 sccm cm−1 for 28,366 h under a low applied compressive stress of 82 kPa (12 psi). Post-mortem SEM and EDS analyses of the mica showed minimum degradation in terms of changes in microstructure and chemical composition, although there appeared to be some Ag migration and segregation at interstices between mica flakes. Fluorine was also found to be released from mica. Overall, the low, constant leakage through the hybrid mica/Ag seals clearly demonstrated a very promising candidate for SOFC sealing.