TaNX coatings deposited by {HPPMS} on {SS316L} bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: Correlation between corrosion current, contact resistance and barrier oxide film formation

By Mendizabal, Lucia; Oedegaard, Anders; Kongstein, Ole Edvard; L
Published in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy NULL 2017

Abstract

Abstract Tantalum nitride (TaNx) coatings deposited by High Power Pulsed Magnetron Sputtering (HPPMS) technology at different N2-to-Ar ratios; i.e. 0, 0.25, 0.625 and 1, corresponding to different N/Ta atomic ratio in the film, were investigated as suitable candidates to improve {SS316L} bipolar plate's performance and durability for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). The corrosion resistance of TaNx coatings was evaluated by potentiodynamic and potentiostatic tests carried out under different cathodic potentials (0.8 VSHE, 1 VSHE, and 1.4 VSHE), electrolyte acidities (pH 3 and pH 6) and test durations (5 and 180 min) in order to mimic real fuel cell operation conditions. Corrosion currents observed for all TaNx coatings were relatively low (1

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