High-performance amorphous carbon films on titanium foils: Toward industrial preparation of coated metallic bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

The proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) composed of amorphous carbon (a-C) film surface modified metal bipolar plates (BPP) have been widely used as a new generation power source for hydrogen energy applications. However, one of the main challenges limiting the industrial deployment of a-C coated BPP remains the low deposition rate. In this study, arc ion plating with a deposition rate exceeding 100 nm/min was used to rapidly deposit a-C films with excellent performance on the surface of titanium foil (TA1). The experimental results show that the ICR of a-C coated TA1 decreases to 1.125 mU cm(2) at a pressure of 1.4 MPa and the corrosion current density is about 3.37 x 10(-9) A cm(-2). In addition, industrially useable BPPs with large-sized coated a-C films has been successfully deposited. This work provides valuable reference for the industrial preparation of low-cost a-C film coating metal BPP for PEMFCs.

Automated summary

Arc ion plating technique was used to rapidly deposit high-quality a-C films on the surface of titanium foil, and large-sized coated BPPs suitable for industrial applications were successfully prepared. The experimental results showed that the a-C coated BPP exhibited a decreased internal resistance of 1.125 mU cm(2) and a corrosion current density of approximately 3.37 x 10(-9) A cm(-2) at a pressure of 1.4 MPa. This study provides important reference for the industrial preparation of low-cost a-C film coated metal BPPs for PEMFCs.