Long term study of Cr evaporation and high temperature corrosion behaviour of Co coated ferritic steel for solid oxide fuel cell interconnects

Abstract

The oxidation behaviour of the uncoated ferritic Fe-22Cr steel Sanergy HT is compared with an 640 nm Co coated version of the same material. The materials have been subject to corrosion and Cr volatilization measurements in air for up to 3000 h at 850 °C. Oxidation tests have been carried out both isothermal and discontinuously. The volatilization measurements were carried out using a recently developed denuder technique, which allows to quantify Cr evaporation in a time resolved manner. The oxidation process is studied from very initial phases (>15 s) to long term behaviour (3000 h). The formed oxide scales are analysed by XRD, SEM/EDX as well as TEM/EDX.The results show that both materials form an oxide scale with an inner layer of Cr2O3 and a spinel layer on top. In the case of the uncoated material, the spinel layer is of (Cr,Mn)3O4 type while in the presence of a Co coating a (Co,Mn,Fe)3O4 is formed. The Cr evaporation measurements show that despite the fact that the Co coating is very thin (640 nm) it effectively blocks Cr evaporation for at least 3000 h. This is in line with TEM analysis showing that after 3000 h there is only a low Cr content in the outer oxide scale. This long term stability indicates the suitability of the coated material as solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) interconnect.