Enhancing through-plane electrical conductivity by introducing Au microdots onto TiN coated metal bipolar plates of PEMFCs

摘要

Developing a high electrically conductive and corrosion-resistant coating on metal bipolar plate is of prime importance for its application in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. To achieve it and further improve its through-plane conductivity, we herein prepared a composite coating by introducing Au microdots onto TiN coated stainless steel (Au/TiN/SS). Au dots provide additional conduction paths and thus Au/TiN/SS exhibits a remarkably lower interfacial contact resistance than that of TiN/SS after 200 h of test, suggesting that incorporation of Au dots into TiN provides an effective approach to achieving dual merits of high conductivity and corrosion resistance. (C) 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.