Oxidation studies of coatings for interconnect plates in solid oxide fuel cells
EMSL Project ID
3164
Abstract
The goal of this project is to determine the feasibility of using the large-area filtered arc plasma source ion deposition (FAPSID) technology for the production of corrosion-resistant bipolar plates in planar solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFC). Work will include application-specific modifications and improvements in the critical hardware components, demonstration of consistent and reliable equipment performance, and production and testing of experimental quantities of multi-layer coated corrosion resistant bipolar plates. The need to reduce cost for components in the SOFC suggests using inexpensive metallic alloys for the interconnecting plate between adjacent cells in a SOFC stack. Most metals will fail quickly due to corrosion in the gaseous environment of the cell, resulting in potentially catastrophic gas leaks. Multilayer coatings on these plates are proposed as a solution to provide oxidation resistance and chemical stability with adjacent components. The bonding characteristics and integrity of the coatings against thermal cycling (>800 oC) will be determined using surface characterization techniques located at Montana State University and the Ion Beam facilities within EMSL in Richland WA. This project will exploit the capability of FAPSID to grow extremely smooth surfaces of multi-layer coatings with a low pinhole density, providing improved corrosion resistance. Using a bonding coating layer such as MeCrAlYt will also be considered. The corrosion resistant coatings will be optimized as a function of several parameters, including substrate material and surface preparation and substrate temperature, number and composition of individual layers, addition of ultra-thin diffusion barriers. The physical, chemical, and electrical integrity of the coated plates will be tested at elevated temperatures in wet and oxidizing conditions. Ultimately, the coating process will be tested for production size prototype bipolar plates at operating temperatures in collaboration with PNNL scientists. The work will be performed by a postdoctoral research associate, two graduate students, and two undergraduate students supported on this grant and under the supervision of Drs. Gorokhovsky, Smith, and Avci, Deibert, and Sears.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2002-12-08
End Date
2005-12-11
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members
Related Publications
C Tripp, A Knospe, CV Ramana, VI Gorokhovsky, V Shutthanandan, DS Gelles, and Smith RJ. 2004. "Using CrAIN Multilayer Coatings to Improve Oxidation Resistance of Steel Interconnects for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stacks." Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance 13(3):295-302.
C Tripp, A Knospe, CV Ramana, VI Gorokhovsky, V Shutthanandan, DS Gelles, and Smith RJ. 2004. "Using CrAIN Multilayer Coatings to Improve Oxidation Resistance of Steel Interconnects for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stacks." Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance 13(3):295-302.
"Deposition and Evaluation of Protective PVD Coatings on Ferritic Stainless-Steel SOFC Interconnects", V.I. Gorokhovsky, P.E. Gannon, M.C. Deibert, R.J. Smith, A. Kayani, M. Kopczyk, D. VanVorous, Zhenguo Yang, J.W. Stevenson, S. Visco, C. Jacobson, H. Kurokawa, S.W. Sofie, Journal of Electrochemical Society, 153 (10) A1886-A1893 (2006).
“Enabling inexpensive alloys as SOFC interconnects: an investigation into hybrid coating technologies to deposit nanocomposite functional coatings on ferritic stainless steels”, P.E. Gannon, V.I. Gorokhovsky, M.C. Deibert, R.J. Smith, A. Kayani, P.T. White, S. Sofie, Zhenguo Yang, D. McCready, S. Visco, C. Jacobson, H. Kurokawa, article in press, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2006.
High-temperature oxidation resistance and surface electrical conductivity of stainless steels with filtered arc Cr–Al–N multilayer and/or superlattice coatings
“Oxidation studies of CrAlON Nanolayered Coatings on Steel Plates”, A. Kayani, R. J. Smith, S. Teintze, M. Kopczyk, P. E. Gannon, M. C. Deibert, V. I. Gorokhovsky, V. Shutthanandan, Surface and Coatings Technology, 201 (2006), 1685-1694.