Electrodeposited conductive polypyrrole/polyaniline composite film for the corrosion protection of copper bipolar plates in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

A conductive composite coating consisting of an inner polypyrrole (PPY) layer and an outer polyaniline (PANI) layer is prepared on a copper substrate by an electrochemical synthesis. Potential application of these composite coatings in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is evaluated. The corrosion performance of the copper substrate without and with the polymer coatings in the acidic solutions containing H2SO4 (0.2 M), HCl (0.1 M) and HF (3 ppm) is investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, polarization and open-circuit potential measurements. The results indicate that both the bilayered PPY/PANI and the single PPY coating can increase the corrosion potential of copper substrate by more than 250 mV (SCE), and effectively decrease the corrosion current density by an order of magnitude in comparison with the uncoated copper substrate. Long-term test further confirms that the bilayered PPY/PANI coating with acceptable contact resistance provides better protection for the substrate than the single PPY coating. The bilayered structure with different ion-permselective nature may serve as an effective physical barrier to the inward penetration of corrosive species.