The major degradation issues of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are associated with the oxide scale growth and Cr evaporation of the metallic interconnect. To address these challenges, a highly dense spinel oxide coating was fabricated on a ferritic stainless steel interconnect using a cost-competitive ceramic processing route. The nano-scale Mn1.5Co1.5O4 spinel powder was synthesized using a glycine-nitrate method, and the particle agglomerates were effectively disintegrated by a high-energy attrition milling process. The spinel protective coating, which was applied by screen printing, was sintered to a nearly full density, without causing damage to the metallic substrate, by a high-temperature annealing process in a reducing environment, followed by re-oxidation at a moderate temperature. The dense spinel coating remarkably reduced the growth rate of chromia scale and restrained the evaporation of chromium species, as verified by area specific resistance (ASR) measurements and analysis on chromium distribution over the cross-section. Strong adhesion between the coating and substrate was confirmed after 500-hour operation. The sintering mechanism involved in reduction-oxidation heat-treatment was studied based on dilatometry measurements and microstructural features. The implication of the ASR change and the chromium migration for stability of practical SOFC stacks was discussed in detail. (C) The Author(s) 2014. Published by ECS. All rights reserved.