Development of PVD coatings for PEMFC metallic bipolar plates

• Published in: Thin solid films 2013-01, Vol.528, p.199-204
• Main Authors: Sun, H., Cooke, K., Eitzinger, G., Hamilton, P., Pollet, B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Bipolar plate; Coatings; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Contact resistance, contact potential; Corrosion; Corrosion resistance; Corrosion tests; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Deposition by sputtering; Direct energy conversion and energy accumulation; Electrical engineering. Electrical power engineering; Electrical power engineering; Electrochemical conversion: primary and secondary batteries, fuel cells; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Electronic transport in interface structures; Exact sciences and technology; Fuel cell; Interfacial contact resistance; Ion and electron beam-assisted deposition; ion plating; Magnetron sputtering; Materials science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Multilayers; Physics; Plates; Protective coatings; Titanium nitride
• ISSN: 0040-6090; 1879-2731
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tsf.2012.10.094

Metallic PEM fuel cell bipolar plate (BPP) materials such as stainless steel typically suffer from insufficient corrosion resistance and/or interfacial contact resistance (ICR). Therefore, coatings with both high corrosion resistance and low ICR are required. Closed field unbalanced magnetron sputter ion plating (CFUBMSIP) was used to produce dense and well adhered TiN, TiN+C and Graphit-iC™ coatings on an AISI316L foil substrate. The ICR of the coatings was measured before and after a potentiostatic measurement at a cathodic standby PEMFC potential of 1V/SHE. Following the corrosion measurement only the TiN+C, Graphit-iC™ and 10nm Au coatings met the ICR and corrosion US DoE targets of