Design of High-Performance MnCo1.5Cu0.5O4 Spinel Contact Material with Optimized Electrical Conductivity and Thermal Stability for Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells by Cu Doping

Haozhen Li; Shuai Yuan; Xingtong Mao; Hao Shi; Hengyong Tu; Chao Ma; Lei Zhu; Zhen Huang

doi:10.1002/eem2.70220

Energy & Environmental Materials ›› 2026, Vol. 9 ›› Issue (5) :e70220 DOI: 10.1002/eem2.70220

Research Article

Design of High-Performance MnCo_1.5Cu_0.5O₄ Spinel Contact Material with Optimized Electrical Conductivity and Thermal Stability for Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells by Cu Doping

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Abstract

As promising contact material candidates in solid oxide cells, spinel-type MnCo_2-xCu_xO₄ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) and Cu_1.5Mn_1.5O₄ powders were synthesized via sol–gel and co–precipitation methods to investigate the effects of Cu doping on electrical and structural properties. Cu substitution introduced additional variable-valent cations and elevated Mn oxidation state via charge compensation. This valence modulation promoted electron hopping between abundant Mn⁴⁺/Mn³⁺ and Cu²⁺/Cu⁺ redox pairs, leading to higher electrical conductivity. Cu doping also reduced lattice rigidity, as evidenced by increased thermal expansion coefficients. After 1000-h aging at 850 °C in air, a multi-layer assembly with MnCo_1.5Cu_0.5O₄ as contact layer exhibited a stable area-specific resistance (ASR) value of ~10 mΩ cm² and good compatibility with MnCo₂-coated SUS441 interconnects. Post-mortem analysis revealed that the resistance was mainly attributed to a well-defined Cr oxide interlayer. Though Cu_1.5Mn_1.5O₄ contact layer led to a thinner oxide scale, continuous Cr outward diffusion may deteriorate the cell performance. Finally, MnCo_1.5Cu_0.5O₄ was applied to a single-cell stack under H₂O/CO₂ co-electrolysis operation for 600 h and achieved an electrolysis voltage of ~1.3 V at a current density of 0.4 A cm⁻². Overall, Cu-doped Mn-Co spinels demonstrate great potential as highly conductive contact materials with tunable thermal properties for solid oxide electrolysis cell applications.

Keywords

contact materials / Cu-doped spinels / electrical conductivity / solid oxide cells / thermal stability

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Haozhen Li, Shuai Yuan, Xingtong Mao, Hao Shi, Hengyong Tu, Chao Ma, Lei Zhu, Zhen Huang. Design of High-Performance MnCo_1.5Cu_0.5O₄ Spinel Contact Material with Optimized Electrical Conductivity and Thermal Stability for Solid Oxide Electrolysis Cells by Cu Doping. Energy & Environmental Materials, 2026, 9 (5) : e70220 DOI:10.1002/eem2.70220

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