The effect of temperature on chromium vaporization and oxide scale growth on interconnect steels for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2015

Chromium vaporization and oxide scale growth are probably the two most important degradation mechanisms associated with the interconnect in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) when Cr 2 O 3 -forming alloys are used as the interconnect material. This study examines the influence of temperature on both mechanisms. Two commercially available steels; Crofer 22 H and Sanergy HT, were isothermally exposed at 650, 750 and 850 °C in an air-3% H 2 O atmosphere with a high flow rate. Volatile chromium species were collected using the denuder technique. The microstructure of thermally grown oxide scales was characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDX) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The findings of this study show that although Cr evaporation is reduced with lower temperature, its relative importance compared to oxide scale growth is greater.