Electrical stability of a novel sealing glass with (Mn,Co)-spinel coated Crofer22APU in a simulated SOFC dual environment

A novel alkaline-earth silicate (Sr-Ca-Y-B-Si-Zn) sealing glass was developed for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) applications. The glass was sandwiched between two metallic interconnect plates and tested for electrical stability in a dual environment at elevated temperatures of 800-850 degrees C. A ferritic stainless steel (Crofer22APU) was used as the metallic interconnect material in the as-received state and coated with (Mn,Co)(3)O-4 spinel. The isothermal aging results showed stable electrical resistivity at 800-850 degrees C for similar to 500-1000 h. The electrical resistivities at 800 or 850 degrees C of the spinel coated samples were lower than the as-received ones; however, they were still several orders of magnitude higher than typical SOFC functional parts. Interfacial microstructure was characterized and possible reactions are discussed. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.