Polyaniline and polypyrrole coatings on aluminum for PEM fuel cell bipolar plates

The conducting polymers polypyrrole and polyaniline were deposited on 6061 aluminum using cyclic voltammetry and painting, respectively. These samples are intended for proton exchange membrane fuel cell applications where surface contact resistance as well as bulk corrosion resistance are requirements for the bipolar plates that separate the cells. Corrosion current and voltage were measured on the samples as well as contact resistance between coated samples as a function of contact pressure. The polypyrrole samples showed neither improved corrosion resistance nor acceptable contact resistance. The painted polyaniline samples, however, showed about an order of magnitude reduction in corrosion current with only a minor increase in contact resistance. It is believed that in the more acidic environment of a fuel cell, the polyaniline will become even more conductive and that further reduction in contact resistance should be possible.