One new route to optimize the oxidation resistance of TiC/hastelloy (Ni-based alloy) composites applied for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell interconnect by increasing graphite particle size

TiC/hastelloy composites with suitable thermal expansion and excellent electrical conductivity are promising candidates for IT-SOFC interconnect. In this paper, the TiC/hastelloy composites are fabricated by in-situ reactive infiltration, and the oxidation resistance of composites is optimized by increasing graphite particle size. Results show that the increase of graphite particles size from 1 μm to 40 μm reduces TiC particle size from 2.68 μm to 2.22 μm by affecting the formation process of TiC. Moreover, the decrease of TiC particles size accelerates the fast formation of dense and continuous TiO2/Cr2O3 oxide layer, which bring down the mass gain (800 °C/100 h) from 2.03 mg cm−2 to 1.18 mg cm−2. Meanwhile, the coefficient of thermal expansion decreases from 11.15 × 10−6 °C-1 to 10.80 × 10−6 °C-1, and electrical conductivity maintains about 5800 S cm−1 at 800 °C. Therefore, the decrease of graphite particle size is one simple and effective route to optimize the oxidation resistance of composites, and meantime keeps suitable thermal expansion and good electrical conductivity.