Corrosion Resistance Measurements of Amorphous Ni40Ti40Nb20 Bipolar Plate Material for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Abstract

Metallic bipolar plates have the advantages of better manufacturability, higher strength over graphite bipolar plates. The higher strength and toughness of the metallic materials permits the reduction of the width of the bipolar plate so, the volume and mass of the fuel cell can also be reduced. In this paper we are investigating the use of Ni-based amorphous material as a bipolar plate for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The major requirements of the metallic bipolar plate material are low weight, high corrosion and low contact resistance. The corrosion property of the present alloy has been investigated under conditions that simulate the fuel cell environment. Hydrogen gas and air were bubbled into a 1 N H2SO4solution at 70 °C, throughout the experiment to simulate the respective anodic and cathodic PEMFC environment. The Ni-base amorphous alloys displayed higher corrosion resistance than stainless steel.

Metallic Material Selection and Prospective Surface Treatments for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates—A Review

“…As a result, alloys with excellent corrosion properties without defects and grain boundaries were designed. The Ni65Cr15P16B4 alloy and the metal glasses Ni-Nb-Ti-Zr or Ni-Cr-P-B showed lower corrosion rates compared to AISI 316L steel, but the contact resistance was slightly higher (54 vs. 50 mΩcm 2 at 140 N•cm −2 ) and did not meet the DOE limits [168].…”

“…Some authors [168][169][170][171][172] have also dealt with amorphous metal glasses considering the fact that they are not limited by the solubility of the dopant in the matrix, which makes it possible to achieve a high content of passivable elements in the material. As a result, alloys with excellent corrosion properties without defects and grain boundaries were designed.…”

Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties of Ni57Nb33Zr5Co5 Metallic Glass

“…Ni-based metallic glasses have generated substantial recent interest for their potential use as bipolar plates in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) [1][2][3] , primarily due to their higher corrosion resistance, compared with conventional stainless steels (i.e., 316L, SUS316L), their high mechanical strengths, and their easy of processing in the supercooled liquid state. According to Hu et al 4 , among the Ni-based metallic glasses, the Ni 57 Nb 33 Zr 5 Co 5 alloy shows high glass forming ability (GFA) and high corrosion resistance in 6 M HCl, open to air at room temperature.…”