Area specific resistance of in-situ oxidized Mn-Cu and Mn-Co metal powders as contact layers for the solid oxide cell air side

Stacking of solid oxide cells (SOC) requires that a robust and durable electrical contact is established between the cell and the interconnect. In this work, we present a contact layer solution for the SOC air side based on the concept of reactive oxidative bonding in which metallic Mn-Co and Mn-Cu particles are oxidized in-situ during stack initiation or operation to form robust well-conductive spinel oxides. The long-term (3000 h) stability of the new contact layers is evaluated by measuring the area specific resistance (ASR) during aging in air at 750 °C and 850 °C, and during thermal cycling. Both Mn-Co and Mn-Cu layers are found to be well compatible with a CeCo coated 441 steel interconnect material, and do not significantly contribute to the resistance across the stack element. The resistance is dominated by the coated steel.