Ceramic materials for interconnects in solid oxide fuel cells - A review

Abstract

An interconnect in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) electrically connects unit cells and separates fuel from oxidant in the adjoining cells. The interconnects can be divided broadly into two categories - ceramic and metallic interconnects. A thin and gastight ceramic layer is deposited onto a porous support, and metallic interconnects are coated with conductive ceramics to improve their surface stability. This paper provides a short review on ceramic materials for SOFC interconnects. After a brief discussion of the key requirements for interconnects, the article describes basic aspects of chromites and titanates with a perovskite structure for ceramic interconnects, followed by the introduction of dual-layer interconnects. Then, the paper presents protective coatings based on spinelor perovskite-type oxides on metallic interconnects, which are capable of mitigating oxide scale growth and inhibiting Cr evaporation.