Cu1.3Mn1.7O4 spinel coatings deposited by electrophoretic deposition on Crofer 22 APU substrates for solid oxide fuel cell applications

To prevent Cr-poisoning in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and to decrease area specific resistance by limiting the rate of chromia growth on Crofer 22 APU interconnects, a protective coating layer on the interconnects is necessary. In this study, the glycine nitrate process (GNP) was used to synthesize Cu1.3Mn1.7O4 submicron powders, which then were deposited on Crofer 22 APU by electrophoretic deposition (EPD), followed by post-deposition thermo-mechanical treatments. The phase purity, uniformity, thickness and porosity of the coating layers were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effectiveness of the coating layer to prevent oxygen and chromium diffusion was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), respectively. The area specific resistance (ASR) of the coated samples was measured as a function of temperature.