Corrosion stability of SUS316L HVOF sprayed coatings as lightweight bipolar plate materials in PEM fuel cells

This study investigated the corrosion stability of high velocity oxy‐fuel (HVOF) spray SUS316L coatings on aluminium substrate as lightweight bipolar plate materials for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Contact resistance, microhardness and structure of the coatings were characterised using a four‐point probe, pneumatic microhardness, XRD and scanning electron microscope techniques. Preliminary electrochemical results indicate that the SUS316L coated plates significantly lowered the corrosion current of the aluminium substrate by more than one order of magnitude. Corrosion stability in relation to the coating thickness is discussed in terms of the structure composition and transpassivity of chromium.