Oxidation and Electrical Conductivity Behavior of Spinel Coatings for Metallic Interconnects of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Spinel coatings of Cu-Mn-O and Co-Mn-O were obtained on UNS S43000 stainless steel by oxidation of electroplated metal coatings. It was demonstrated that the coatings can effectively provide a conductive path to the metallic substrate. The area-specific resistance of both Cu-Mn and Co-Mn spinels was 0.003 Ω·cm2 after oxidation at 750°C for 1,500 h, compared to 0.189 Ω·cm2 for the uncoated UNS S43000 sample.