Corrosion-Resistant and Conductive Coatings on 316L Stainless Steel Bipolar Plates Fabricated by Hot Rolling

Abstract

The insufficient corrosion resistance and high interfacial contact resistance (ICR) of 316L stainless steel (316L SS) severely limit its application as bipolar plates (BPs) in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). In this study, a graphite/carbon black/PVDF composite coating was first developed by hot rolling on the surface of 316L SS to enhance both corrosion resistance and conductivity. By incorporating 5 wt% polyaniline (PANI) as a corrosion inhibitor, the optimized RP5 coating exhibited further improvements in corrosion resistance. The potentiodynamic polarization tests revealed that the RP5 coating achieved a corrosion current density of 0.977 μA·cm−2, representing a two-orders of magnitude reduction compared to bare 316L SS (34.1 μA·cm−2). The coating also exhibits a satisfactory interfacial contact resistance (ICR) of 8.20 mΩ·cm2 at 1.5 MPa, meeting the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 2025 targets (<10 mΩ·cm2). Additionally, the RP5 coating exhibited superior hydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 96.5°, which is advantageous for water management within PEMFCs. The results confirm that the RP5 coating achieves an optimal balance between high conductivity, excellent corrosion resistance, and improved hydrophobicity, making it a promising solution for advancing PEMFC bipolar plates’ performance.