Enhancing Durability and Efficiency of Electrochemical Energy Devices (Batteries and Solid Oxide Cells) Through Thermal Spray Coating Technologies: A Review

Thermal spray coatings have also been adopted as a solution strategy to increase the service life and improve the performance of designed engineered electrochemical energy devices, especially batteries and solid oxide cells. These systems share common attributes of challenges in interfacial stability, degradation in microstructure, and transport limitations in extreme operating conditions. This review revolves around the significance of microstructural coating, that is, distribution of porosity, phase composition, splat bonding, and interface quality in regulating the electrochemical performance. High-entropy alloys, functional graded material, and nanostructured feedstock are also mentioned in the context of how they can be utilized to modify coating properties and make the device more reliable. The processing environments and microstructure development relative to major performance indices, such as ionic/ electronic conductivity, corrosion behavior, and stability, are critically examined. Furthermore, the trade-off between the energy consumed during the synthesis of the powders and the efficiency of deposition of the coating is discussed to give information on sustainable production. Other new approaches involving the use of computational models and artificial intelligence to maximize the processes are also discussed in this review. Generally, this paper creates a process–structure–performance system for the rational development of thermal spray coatings in the next generation of electrochemical-based energy systems.