Performance Enhancement of a-C:Cr Thin Films Deposited on 316L Stainless Steel as Bipolar Plates via a Thin Ti Layer by Mid-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering for PEMFC Application
Ti/a-C:Cr multilayer films were deposited on 316L stainless steel (SS316L) substrates using medium-frequency alternating current magnetron sputtering, with a single-layer a-C:Cr film also prepared on a titanium substrate. The influence of sputtering pressure on the film’s structure and properties wa...
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author | Yuxing Zhao Song Li Saiqiang Wang Ming Ma Ming Chen Jiao Yang Chunlei Yang Weimin Li |
author_facet | Yuxing Zhao Song Li Saiqiang Wang Ming Ma Ming Chen Jiao Yang Chunlei Yang Weimin Li |
author_sort | Yuxing Zhao |
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description | Ti/a-C:Cr multilayer films were deposited on 316L stainless steel (SS316L) substrates using medium-frequency alternating current magnetron sputtering, with a single-layer a-C:Cr film also prepared on a titanium substrate. The influence of sputtering pressure on the film’s structure and properties was systematically investigated. Film morphology and microstructure were analyzed via X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). At a pressure of 1.4 MPa, the interfacial contact resistance (ICR) of SS316L bipolar plates (BPPs) coated with the films reached as low as 3.30 mΩ·cm<sup>2</sup>, while that of titanium BPPs was 2.90 mΩ·cm<sup>2</sup>. Under simulated proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) cathode conditions (70 °C, 0.6 V vs. SCE, 0.5 M H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>, 5 ppm HF solution), the corrosion current density, Icorr, reached optimal values of 0.69 μA·cm<sup>−2</sup> for SS316L and 0.62 μA·cm<sup>−2</sup> for titanium. These results demonstrate that parameter optimization enables SS316L BPPs to functionally replace titanium counterparts, offering significant cost reductions for metal BPPs and accelerating the commercialization of PEMFC technology. |
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issn | 1996-1073 |
language | English |
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spelling | doaj-art-b15455b2b65345979664cb15b9c1631f2025-07-11T14:38:29ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732025-06-011813327010.3390/en18133270Performance Enhancement of a-C:Cr Thin Films Deposited on 316L Stainless Steel as Bipolar Plates via a Thin Ti Layer by Mid-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering for PEMFC ApplicationYuxing Zhao0Song Li1Saiqiang Wang2Ming Ma3Ming Chen4Jiao Yang5Chunlei Yang6Weimin Li7Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaShenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaShenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaShenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaShenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaShenzhen Center Power Tech Co., Ltd., Center Power Industrial Park, Tongfu Industrial District, Dapeng Town, Shenzhen 518120, ChinaShenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaShenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaTi/a-C:Cr multilayer films were deposited on 316L stainless steel (SS316L) substrates using medium-frequency alternating current magnetron sputtering, with a single-layer a-C:Cr film also prepared on a titanium substrate. The influence of sputtering pressure on the film’s structure and properties was systematically investigated. Film morphology and microstructure were analyzed via X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). At a pressure of 1.4 MPa, the interfacial contact resistance (ICR) of SS316L bipolar plates (BPPs) coated with the films reached as low as 3.30 mΩ·cm<sup>2</sup>, while that of titanium BPPs was 2.90 mΩ·cm<sup>2</sup>. Under simulated proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) cathode conditions (70 °C, 0.6 V vs. SCE, 0.5 M H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>, 5 ppm HF solution), the corrosion current density, Icorr, reached optimal values of 0.69 μA·cm<sup>−2</sup> for SS316L and 0.62 μA·cm<sup>−2</sup> for titanium. These results demonstrate that parameter optimization enables SS316L BPPs to functionally replace titanium counterparts, offering significant cost reductions for metal BPPs and accelerating the commercialization of PEMFC technology.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/13/3270medium-frequency magnetron alternating current sputteringproton exchange membrane fuel cellbipolar plate coatingsmultilayernew energy |
spellingShingle | Yuxing Zhao Song Li Saiqiang Wang Ming Ma Ming Chen Jiao Yang Chunlei Yang Weimin Li Performance Enhancement of a-C:Cr Thin Films Deposited on 316L Stainless Steel as Bipolar Plates via a Thin Ti Layer by Mid-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering for PEMFC Application Energies medium-frequency magnetron alternating current sputtering proton exchange membrane fuel cell bipolar plate coatings multilayer new energy |
title | Performance Enhancement of a-C:Cr Thin Films Deposited on 316L Stainless Steel as Bipolar Plates via a Thin Ti Layer by Mid-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering for PEMFC Application |
title_full | Performance Enhancement of a-C:Cr Thin Films Deposited on 316L Stainless Steel as Bipolar Plates via a Thin Ti Layer by Mid-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering for PEMFC Application |
title_fullStr | Performance Enhancement of a-C:Cr Thin Films Deposited on 316L Stainless Steel as Bipolar Plates via a Thin Ti Layer by Mid-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering for PEMFC Application |
title_full_unstemmed | Performance Enhancement of a-C:Cr Thin Films Deposited on 316L Stainless Steel as Bipolar Plates via a Thin Ti Layer by Mid-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering for PEMFC Application |
title_short | Performance Enhancement of a-C:Cr Thin Films Deposited on 316L Stainless Steel as Bipolar Plates via a Thin Ti Layer by Mid-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering for PEMFC Application |
title_sort | performance enhancement of a c cr thin films deposited on 316l stainless steel as bipolar plates via a thin ti layer by mid frequency magnetron sputtering for pemfc application |
topic | medium-frequency magnetron alternating current sputtering proton exchange membrane fuel cell bipolar plate coatings multilayer new energy |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/13/3270 |
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