Abstract
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.
Highlights
The increase of world energy demand and rise in consumption due to fast growing human population has brought about the need to substitute current sources of energy to reduce world reliance on fossil commodities
Metal nitride is used for coating metallic bipolar plates and it is known for its good electrical conductivity, chemical stability and excellent hardness
Examined the interfacial contact resistance and the electrochemical properties of 316L stainless steel (SS) substrates coated with Chromium nitride (CrN), TiN and TiAIN deposited by electron beam physical vapour deposition (EBPVD)
Summary
The increase of world energy demand and rise in consumption due to fast growing human population has brought about the need to substitute current sources of energy to reduce world reliance on fossil commodities. Fuel cell is a device that transforms hydrogen and oxygen fuel cells)energy are among promising fuels that areand currently being developed in replacing into electrical via anthe electrochemical reaction the by-products are water and heat.fossil. A single fueldensity cell comprises ofoperating a currenttemperature collector, bipolar plate, flow field channels, gas diffusion high [3,4].AAfive-cell single fuel cellPEM comprises of and a current layer,power catalyst layer,and andlow membrane electrode assembly. During operating conditions, the corrosion layer formed increases the electrical resistance of the fuel cells In solving this problem, coating of metal bipolar plates is suggested.
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