Plasma sprayed manganese–cobalt spinel coatings: Process sensitivity on phase, electrical and protective performance

•MCO is coated via plasma spray with five T-v conditions to protect interconnect.•Correlation of process-microstructure-phase-properties of MCO coatings is examined.•T-dependent XRD is used to track phase change of trapped metastable rock salt phase.•Optimization of process is critical to achieve both density and stoichiometry.

Manganese cobalt spinel (Mn1.5Co1.5O4, MCO) coatings are prepared by the air plasma spray (APS) process to examine their efficacy in serving as protective coatings from Cr-poisoning of the cathode side in intermediate temperature-solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs). These complex oxides are susceptible to process induced stoichiometric and phase changes which affect their functional performance. To critically examine these effects, MCO coatings are produced with deliberate modifications to the spray process parameters to explore relationship among process conditions, microstructure and functional properties. The resultant interplay among particle thermal and kinetic energies are captured through process maps, which serve to characterize the parametric effects on properties. The results show significant changes to the chemistry and phase composition of the deposited material resulting from preferential evaporation of oxygen. Post deposition annealing recovers oxygen in the coatings and allows partial recovery of the spinel phase, which is confirmed through thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA)/differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and magnetic hysteresis measurements. In addition, coatings with high density after sintering show excellent electrical conductivity of 40 S cm−1 at 800 °C while simultaneously providing requisite protection characteristics against Cr-poisoning. This study provides a framework for optimal evaluation of MCO coatings in intermediate temperature SOFCs.