Comprehensive review of chromium deposition and poisoning of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) cathode materials

A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a clean and efficient energy conversion device. The development of intermediate-temperature SOFCs has made it preferable to use metallic interconnects (MICs) to greatly reduce the cost and significantly increase the efficiency compared to ceramic interconnect materials. However, gaseous chromium species will evaporate from the chromium-containing layer formed on the surface of commonly used MICs. Volatile chromium species have been shown to form solid deposits which poison the cathodes of SOFCs, causing drastic cell performance degradation and thereby limiting commercialization. In this review, we systematically summarize the status and progress of research on this topic and compare the variations in chromium poisoning phenomena under numerous SOFC operating conditions. Moreover, approaches to alleviate chromium poisoning are evaluated and discussed.