scholarly journals Corrosion resistance of composites based to graphite used as bipolar plates in fuel cells

10.5772/31991 ◽  
2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agata Dudek ◽  
Renata Wlodarczyk
Keyword(s):  
Corrosion Resistance ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Bipolar Plates

PVD Coated Bipolar Plates for PEM Fuel Cells

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 290-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuo-Jen Lee ◽  
Ching-Han Huang ◽  
Yu-Pang Chen ◽  
Chen-Te Hsu
Keyword(s):  
Corrosion Resistance ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Physical Vapor Deposition ◽  
Corrosion Current ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Coating Materials ◽  
Pvd Coating ◽  
Simulated Fuel

Aluminum was considered a good candidate material for bipolar plates of the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells due to its low cost, light weight, high strength and good manufacturability. But there were problems of both chemical and electrochemical corrosions in the PEM fuel cell operating environment. The major goals of this research are to find proper physical vapor deposition (PVD) coating materials which would enhance surface properties by making significant improvements on corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity at a reasonable cost. Several coating materials had been studied to analyze their corrosion resistance improvement. The corrosion rates of all materials were tested in a simulated fuel cell environment. The linear polarization curve of electrochemical method measured by potentiostat instrument was employed to determine the corrosion current. Results of the corrosion tests indicated that all of the coating materials had good corrosion resistance and were stable in the simulated fuel cell environment. The conductivities of the coated layers were better and the resistances changed very little after the corrosion test. At last, single fuel cells were made by each PVD coating material. Fuel cell tests were conducted to determine their performance w.r.t. that was made of graphite. The results of fuel cell tests indicated that metallic bipolar plates with PVD coating could be used in PEM fuel cells.

scholarly journals Study on the Properties of Vertical Carbon Nanotube Films Grown on Stainless Steel Bipolar Plates

Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Congda Lu ◽  
Fengye Shi ◽  
Jing Jin ◽  
Xiang Peng
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Corrosion Resistance ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
304 Stainless Steel ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Stainless Steel Bipolar Plates

Research on the conductivity and corrosion resistance of stainless steel bipolar plates in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is commonly performed in a normal-temperature environment (about 20 °C). However, these fuel cells must function in low-temperature environments (lower than 0 °C) in some conditions, such as in vehicle fuel cells and in portable power supplies that operate during the winter in northern China. Stainless steel bipolar plates have higher requirements in terms of their hydrophobic and anti-icing properties, in addition to needing high conductivity and corrosion resistance. In this study, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are grown on the surface of 304 stainless steel (304 SS) without a catalyst coating by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), which is a simple and cheap method that allows stainless steel to be used as bipolar plates in low-temperature environments. The Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results show that the CNTs grown on the surface of 304 SS have different morphologies. The stainless steel samples with different CNT morphologies are tested by hydrophobicity and in situ icing experiments to prove that vertical CNTs can achieve a superhydrophobic state and have good anti-icing properties. The interfacial contact resistance (ICR) of the bare 304 SS and the 304 SS with vertical CNTs is compared by voltammetry, and then the corrosion resistances of both types is compared in a simulated PEMFC environment via a three-electrode system. Consequently, the ICR of the 304 SS with vertical CNTs was lower than the bare 304 SS. The corrosion potential was positive, and the corrosion current density was greatly reduced for the stainless steel with vertical CNTs grown directly on its surface when compared with the bare 304 SS. The experimental results show that vertical CNTs have good application prospects as bipolar plates for PEMFCs in low-temperature environments.

scholarly journals Metallic Material Selection and Prospective Surface Treatments for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates—A Review

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2682
Author(s):  
Tereza Bohackova ◽  
Jakub Ludvik ◽  
Milan Kouril
Keyword(s):  
Corrosion Resistance ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Contact Resistance ◽  
Material Selection ◽  
Passive Layer ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Interfacial Contact ◽  
Interfacial Contact Resistance

The aim of this review is to summarize the possibilities of replacing graphite bipolar plates in fuel-cells. The review is mostly focused on metallic bipolar plates, which benefit from many properties required for fuel cells, viz. good mechanical properties, thermal and electrical conductivity, availability, and others. The main disadvantage of metals is that their corrosion resistance in the fuel-cell environment originates from the formation of a passive layer, which significantly increases interfacial contact resistance. Suitable coating systems prepared by a proper deposition method are eventually able to compensate for this disadvantage and make the replacement of graphite bipolar plates possible. This review compares coatings, materials, and deposition methods based on electrochemical measurements and contact resistance properties with respect to achieving appropriate parameters established by the DOE as objectives for 2020. An extraordinary number of studies have been performed, but only a minority of them provided promising results. One of these is the nanocrystalline β-Nb2N coating on AISI 430, prepared by the disproportionation reaction of Nb(IV) in molten salt, which satisfied the DOE 2020 objectives in terms of corrosion resistance and interfacial contact resistance. From other studies, TiN, CrN, NbC, TiC, or amorphous carbon-based coatings seem to be promising. This paper is novel in extracting important aspects for future studies and methods for testing the properties of metallic materials and factors affecting monitoring characteristics and parameters.

Sintered Materials for Bipolar Plates

2011 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 797-803
Author(s):  
R. Włodarczyk ◽  
A. Dudek
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Corrosion Resistance ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Microstructural Analysis ◽  
Chloride Ions ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
General Corrosion ◽  
Bipolar Plates ◽  
Sintered Materials

Sintered Materials for Bipolar PlatesThis study presents an analysis of opportunities of the application of stainless steel for interconnectors in fuel cells. The investigations also included microstructural analysis of sintered materials in terms of use of them as interconnectors in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Corrosion resistance in sinters made of a stainless steel was analysed in sulphate solutions; general corrosion resistance and pitting corrosion resistance were tested in the presence of chloride ions. Due to the multifunctionality of materials for interconnectors, selection of these materials is extremely difficult. Results of the investigations of corrosion resistance prove that corrosion resistance is connected with the structure of material and chemical composition of sinters.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Effect of Metal Bipolar Plate Coating on the Performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwatosin Ijaodola ◽  
Emmanuel Ogungbemi ◽  
Fawwad Nisar. Khatib ◽  
Tabbi Wilberforce ◽  
Mohamad Ramadan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Corrosion Resistance ◽  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Flow Field ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
Metal Foam ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Bipolar Plate ◽  
Pem Fuel Cells ◽  
Bipolar Plates

Environmental concerns of greenhouse gases (GHG) effect from fossil commodities and the fast increase in global energy demand have created awareness on the need to replace fossil fuels with other sources of clean energy. PEM fuel cell (PEMFC) is a promising source of energy to replace fossil fuels. The commercialization of the cell depends on its price, weight and mechanical strength. Bipolar plates are among the main components of PEMFC which perform some significant functions in the fuel cell stack. Metal bipolar plate is considered by the research community as the future material for fuel cells. However, surface coating is required for metals to enhance its corrosion resistance, hydrophilicity and interfacial contact resistance (ICR) in PEM fuel cells. Open pore cellular metal foam (OPCMF) materials have been used to replace the conventional flow field channel in recent times due to its low electrical resistance, high specific area and high porosity; however, it endures the same corrosion problem as the metallic bipolar plate. This investigation offers an overview on different types of bipolar plates and techniques in coating metallic bipolar platse and open pore metal foam as flow field channel materials to improve the corrosion resistance which will eventually increase the efficiency of the fuel cell appreciably.

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