Electrophoretic deposition of Mn 1.5 Co 1.5 O 4 on metallic interconnect and interaction with glass-ceramic sealant for solid oxide fuel cells application Federico Smeacetto a, * , Auristela De Miranda a , Sandra Cabanas Polo b , Sebastian Molin c , Dino Boccaccini c , Milena Salvo a , Aldo R. Boccaccini b a Department of Applied Science and Technology, DISAT, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24,10129 Torino, Italy b Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Cauerstr. 6, 91058 Erlangen, Germany c Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Risø Campus, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark highlights  Mn 1.5 Co 1.5 O 4 spinel coatings are deposited on Crofer22APU by electrophoretic deposition.  The compatibility with a glass-ceramic sealant is evaluated.  No adverse reaction took place between the Mn 1.5 Co 1.5 O 4 coating and the sealant.  ASR increase rates for Mn 1.5 Co 1.5 O 4 coated Crofer22APU after 2500 h are ~0.51 mU cm 2 per 1000 hrs.  Mn 1.5 Co 1.5 O 4 coating can effectively act as a barrier to outward diffusion of Cr. article info Article history: Received 26 November 2014 Received in revised form 14 January 2015 Accepted 20 January 2015 Available online 20 January 2015 Keywords: SOFC EPD Coating Glass-based sealant Area specific resistance abstract Cr-containing stainless steels are widely used as metallic interconnects for SOFCs. Volatile Cr-containing species, which originate from the oxide formed on steel, can poison the cathode material and subse- quently cause degradation in the SOFC stack. Mn 1.5 Co 1.5 O 4 spinel is one of the most promising coating materials due to its high electrical conductivity, good CTE match with the stainless steel substrate and an excellent chromium retention capability. In this work Mn 1.5 Co 1.5 O 4 spinel coatings are deposited on Crofer22APU substrates by cathodic electrophoretic deposition (EPD) followed by sintering at 800 e1150  C in different atmospheres. Dense, continuous and crack free Mn 1.5 Co 1.5 O 4 coatings (with thickness ranging from 10 to 40 mm) are obtained on Crofer22APU substrates. Moreover, electrical properties of the coated Crofer22APU alloy are tested up to 2500 h and an excellent compatibility is found between Mn 1.5 Co 1.5 O 4 coated Crofer22APU and a new glass-ceramic sealant, after 500 h of thermal tests in air, thus suggesting that the spinel protection layer can effectively act as a barrier to outward diffusion of Cr. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are electrochemical energy con- version devices that directly convert chemical energy into elec- tricity, operating at temperatures in the range of 500e800  C. Planar SOFCs, which consist of two porous electrodes, one anode and one cathode separated by the dense ionic conductive electrolyte, are considered effective systems in terms of cost and efficiency. In order to improve the SOFC output power, a number of cells has to be stacked together through the use of interconnect plates in order to form a SOFC stack. Metallic interconnects have been extensively used to make both physical and electrical contact and to separate the fuel from oxidant gases. In this complex context, sealants must provide a gas tight joint between metallic in- terconnects and the ceramic components of the SOFC cell [1,2]. Chromia-forming ferritic stainless steels are promising candi- dates as interconnects because of their high electrical and thermal conductivity, mechanical strength and low cost. Furthermore, their * Corresponding author. E-mail address: federico.smeacetto@polito.it (F. Smeacetto). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Power Sources journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jpowsour http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.01.120 0378-7753/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Journal of Power Sources 280 (2015) 379e386