Corrosion performance of graphene oxide coated 304 SS in PEMFC environment

Abstract In this work, an electrophoretic deposition technique was used to deposit graphene oxide (GO) on 304 stainless steel. Its corrosion performance was evaluated in a simulated polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell environment. The corrosion current density (icorr) and interfacial contact resistance (ICR) were measured at 8.9 µA/cm2 and 19.3 mΩ cm2, respectively. The icorr of GO coated 304SS is several orders lower than bare SS 304. Similarly, the ICR of GO coated 304SS is nearly half of bare 304SS at a compaction pressure of 150 N/cm2. The potentiodynamic polarization plot indicates the prevalence of multiple corrosion mechanisms. A prolonged corrosion study for 30 days immersed in the simulated PEM cell environment shows the formation of rounded pits that corroborate the activity of pitting corrosion.