Fabrication process analysis and experimental verification for aluminum bipolar plates in fuel cells by vacuum die-casting

In this article, we proposed a facile method to electrophoretically deposit a highly conductive and corrosion-resistant graphene layer on metal bipolar plates (BPs) while avoiding the oxidation of the metal substrate during the electrophoretic deposition (EPD). p-Phenylenediamine (PPD) was first grafted onto negatively charged graphene oxide (GO) to obtain modified graphene oxide (MGO) while bearing positive charges. Then, MGO dispersed in ethanol was coated on titanium plates via cathodic EPD under a constant voltage, followed by reducing the deposited MGO with H2 at 400 °C, gaining a titanium plate coated with reduced MGO (RMGO@Ti). Under the simulated environment of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), RMGO@Ti presents a corrosion current of < 10−6 A·cm−2, approximately two orders of magnitude lower than that of bare titanium. Furthermore, the interfacial contact resistance (ICR) of RMGO@Ti is as low as 4 mΩ·cm2, which is about one-thirtieth that of bare titanium. Therefore, RMGO@Ti appears very promising for use as BP in PEMFCs.

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PVD Coated Bipolar Plates for PEM Fuel Cells

Journal of Fuel Cell Science and Technology ◽

10.1115/1.2041671 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 290-294 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

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.

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