Performance studies of solid oxide fuel cell cathodes in the presence of bare and cobalt coated E-brite alloy interconnects

The electrochemical performances of La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3 (LSCF) electrodes were studied by half-cell measurements in the absence of chromia-forming alloy, in the presence of bare and Co coated E-brite alloy interconnects, respectively. The surface and cross-section properties of the bare and Co coated E-brite alloys, and LSCF electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). The results showed a rapid degradation in LSCF performance when the bare E-brite alloy was used as interconnect. The growth of chromia scale on the E-brite alloy and the increase of Cr content throughout the LSCF electrode were observed. The uniform and dense Co coating process was developed to coat the E-brite alloy by using both electroless and electrodeposition methods. It was demonstrated that the Co layer effectively mitigates the Cr migration, leading to improved electrochemical stability of LSCF electrodes.