Investigation of MnCu0.5Co1.5O4 spinel coated SUS430 interconnect alloy for preventing chromium vaporization in intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell

The MnCu0.5Co1.5O4 spinel coating is proposed as a protective coating for SUS430 alloy to improve its oxidation resistance and prevent chromium vaporization. The coated alloy is exposed to dual atmosphere (Air/H2-3%H2O) at 750 °C for 200 h, exhibiting a stable spinel structure on the air side, but reduced to MnO, Cu and Co on the fuel side. The coating layer could maintain integrated and dense with a thickness of 13-14 μm. The experiment results shown that the MnCu0.5Co1.5O4 coating is an effective diffusion barrier that can inhibit oxidation and chromium vaporization of metallic interconnect. The relatively low amount of Cr deposition on LSM cathode on coated condition is considered associating with the stable electrochemical performance under current density of 400 mA cm−2. The above results indicate that MnCu0.5Co1.5O4 spinel is a promising coating for interconnect alloy of solid oxide fuel cell.