Nanoparticle TiN-coated type 310S stainless steel as bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell

Type 310S stainless steel was coated by TiN nanoparticles with styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) through electrophoretic deposition. The TiN-coated and uncoated type 310S stainless steels were investigated through polarization tests in the simulated polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEFC) environments (0.05 M SO42- + 2 ppm F− solution at 353 K), interfacial contact resistance measurements between steels and carbon paper gas diffusion layer, and single cell operation up to 300 h. The surface coating with conductive TiN nanoparticles resulted in good fuel cell performance in both simulated PEFC environment and single cell operation with the help of improved interfacial conductivity.