Plasma Sprayed Diffusion Barrier Layers Based on Doped Perovskite-Type LaCrO₃ at Substrate-Anode Interface in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

In the thin-film solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) concept of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Stuttgart, the entire membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is deposited onto a porous metallic substrate by an integrated multistep vacuum plasma spray (VPS) process. This concept enables the production of very thin and stable electrodes and electrolyte layers with a total cell thickness of only 100-120/μm. In this concept, the porous ferrite substrate material predominantly acts as mechanical cell support and as fuel gas distributor. In general, ferrite substrate alloys with high chromium and low manganese content show both excellent corrosion stability and adequate thermal expansion behavior. Nevertheless, at the high process temperature in the SOFC of ∼800 °C, atomic transport processes can show a detrimental effect on cell performance, at least at the required long-term operation. Problems arise, in particular, through diffusion processes of Fe-, Cr-, and Ni-species between the Ni/8YSZ anode and the ferrite steel-based substrate material. This can induce significant structure changes both in the anode and the substrate. As a reliable solution of this key problem, a plasma sprayed thin diffusion barrier layer is seen at the interface between anode and substrate, which consists of an electrically conductive and chemically stable ceramic component. For this purpose, some doped perovskite-type LaCrO₃, such as La_1-xSr_xCrO_3-δ La_1-x Ca_x CrO_3-δ or La_1-x Sr_xCr_1-yCo_yO_3-δ were investigated and tested carefully at DLR. These types of perovskites show a high potential to fulfill all the required properties that are needed for the applicability as an anode-side diffusion barrier layer. The paper focuses on basic investigations of differently doped LaCrO₃ compounds under SOFC-relevant conditions concerning thermal expansion, electrical conductivity, chemical stability, etc. Furthermore, first results of electrically and electrochemically characterized hall cells carried out with some qualified doped LaCrO₃ are shown. Finally, the diffusion barrier layer is demonstrated as a new SOFC component that is effective at cell operating conditions.