Degradation behavior of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell employing metallic bipolar plates under reverse current condition

To examine durability of metallic bipolar plates (BPs) under reverse current conditions, the degradation of PEMFC employing graphite, bare 316L, and CrN-coated 316L BPs is investigated via a 1.4 V pulse cycling test. After 20 cycles, the average voltage decay rate at 160 mA cm−2 is 6.8, 16.8, and 12.0 mV cycle−1 for the single cell using graphite, bare 316L, and CrN-coated 316L BPs, respectively. SEM, EPMA, and TEM analyses of the cathodes that experienced an extraordinary high voltage of 1.4 V show that carbon corrosion and Pt migration/agglomeration occur similarly for the single cells, irrespective of the bipolar plate material. In contrast, in the membrane tested with bare 316L and CrN-coated 316L, Fe and Cr are detected; the amounts of Fe and Cr in the membrane are higher for bare 316L than for CrN-coated 316L. The membrane contamination results in a decrease in the ionic conductivity of the membranes, which mainly contributes to the faster performance decay of the single cells employing bare 316L and CrN-coated 316L bipolar plates. Thus, if automotive PEMFCs using metallic BPs are exposed to reverse current conditions upon start/stop cycles, metal contamination of the membrane could accelerate the performance decay in addition to the cathode degradation, such as carbon corrosion and Pt migration/agglomeration.

► The single cells are exposed to the reverse current condition; potentials of 1.4 V. ► The cell with metal BPs exhibits faster degradation than that with graphite BPs. ► After 1.4 V pulse cycling test, Fe and Cr are detected in the membrane. ► Metal contamination of MEA accelerates decay of cell performance.