Development of Cu alloy anode and separator coated with Al-Ni intermetallic compound

Abstract

Anode made of Cu alloy and separator coated with Al-Ni intermetallic compound have been developed for VCFC. Anode of Ni alloy is usually used. However, the alternative of cost lower than Ni alloy anode should be needed, because Ni is expensive. Cu is attractive as an anode material for VCFC because it is inexpensive and electrochemically noble. However, the creep resistance of Cu is not sufficient, compared with Ni alloy. In this study, strengthening due to oxide-dispersed microstructure has been developed in Cu-Ni-Al alloy with the two-step sintering process. A wet-seal technique has been widely applied for gas-sealing and supporting of electrolyte in MCFC. Since the wet-seal area is exposed to a severe corrosive environment, corrosion resistance of material for wet sealing is related with the cell performance. Al-Ni plating with post-heat treating for stainless steel has been investigated. Stainless steel substrate was plated with Al after being coated with Ni, then heat-treated at 750 {degrees}C for 1 hour in Ar gas atmosphere. Due to the treatment, Al-Ni intermetallic compound ( mainly Al3Ni2 ) layer is formed on stainless steel surface. The long-term immersion test was carried out till 14,500 hours in 62 mol% Li{sub 2}CO{sub 3}-38 mol% K{sub 2}CO{sub 3} at 650 {degrees}C under air-30%CO{sub 2} atmosphere, for the purpose of evaluating the corrosion resistance and thermal stability of Al-Ni intermetallic compound layer in actual generating with VCFC.