A comparison of carbon coated and uncoated 316L stainless steel for using as bipolar plates in PEMFCs

Two kinds of carbon coated and uncoated 316L stainless steel are studied to use as bipolar plates in fuel cells. The results show that the conductive amorphous carbon film has a low corrosion rate in simulated PEMFC environment. Rather long term potentiostatic tests and SEM investigations indicate that carbon thin films can be a good candidate to use as bipolar plate.

► Two kinds of carbon coated and uncoated 316L stainless steel are studied.
► The electrical properties and the corrosion resistance of carbon coated samples compared with uncoated 316L stainless steel shows a substantial strong improvement in the cited properties.
► Stainless steel coated by carbon layer can be a suitable candidate for using as a bipolar plate in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells.