Ex-situ Characterization of Nb-Ti Alloy/Pt Coated Stainless Steel Bipolar Plates for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Abstract

Metallic bipolar plates are crucial for the development of compact and lightweight proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks; however, most of them encounter durability and conductivity challenges in the fuel cell environment. In this study, Nb-Ti alloy/Pt coatings are deposited on SS316L plates to enhance corrosion resistance, surface wettability, electrical and thermal conductivity, with reduced interfacial contact resistance. Corrosion resistance is assessed by exposing test samples to a 1M H2SO4 acidic environment at 25 °C and 80 °C, respectively, via potentiostatic and potentiodynamic polarization tests. It is found that Nb-Ti alloy/Pt coatings exhibit exceptional stability, with corrosion potential increased by 2.5 (at 25 °C) and 0.5 (at 80 °C) times and corrosion current density reduced by orders of magnitude; and their anti-corrosion performance far exceeds the technical targets set by the US Department of Energy, with a protective efficiency of 99.98 % at both temperatures tested. The coated samples have reduced water affinity, indicated by significantly larger contact angle values compared to the uncoated samples in both pre-and post-corrosion tests. The incorporation of Nb-Ti alloy/Pt coatings on SS316L increases the in-plane electrical conductivity by 42.6 % and thermal conductivity by 3.5 %; surpassing the US Department of Energy's technical targets in these categories as well. At a compaction force of 140 N/cm2, the interfacial contact resistance for the coated samples is about 2.5 times lower than the Department of Energy's requirements. These results indicate the viability of Nb-Ti alloy/Pt coated SS316L bipolar plates for fuel cell applications.