Improvement of Corrosion Resistance and Electrical Conductivity of Stainless Steel 316L Bipolar Plate by Pickling and Passivation

Corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of stainless steel bipolar plate remains a big challenge while it has been regarded as the most promising candidate for proton exchange membrane fuel cell. The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of pickling and passivation by sulfuric acid...

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Main Authors: Yu Leng, Daijun Yang, Pingwen Ming, Bing Li, Cunman Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
Series:World Electric Vehicle Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2032-6653/12/3/101
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author Yu Leng
Daijun Yang
Pingwen Ming
Bing Li
Cunman Zhang
author_facet Yu Leng
Daijun Yang
Pingwen Ming
Bing Li
Cunman Zhang
author_sort Yu Leng
collection DOAJ
description Corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of stainless steel bipolar plate remains a big challenge while it has been regarded as the most promising candidate for proton exchange membrane fuel cell. The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of pickling and passivation by sulfuric acid and a mixture of nitric and fluoric acids, respectively, on corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of stainless steel 316L (SS316L) bipolar plate. First, pickling of the specimens of SS316L is performed in a 15 wt.% H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>. Afterwards, the specimens are passivated in a mixture of 12 wt.% HF and 4 wt.% HNO<sub>3</sub>. Electrochemical and interfacial conductivity tests are conducted to examine the change in corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of SS316L. Finally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) reveal the evolution of surface morphology, chemical composition and surface conductivity. The results show that the corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of SS316L could be improved significantly by pickling and passivation. The increase in Cr:Fe ratio as well as a more uniform surface with higher conductivity is the main reason for the improvement of corrosion resistance and interfacial conductivity of SS316L.
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spelling doaj.art-71f83bbf5c0f438699dda0a0ed89e3892023-11-22T15:42:01ZengMDPI AGWorld Electric Vehicle Journal2032-66532021-07-0112310110.3390/wevj12030101Improvement of Corrosion Resistance and Electrical Conductivity of Stainless Steel 316L Bipolar Plate by Pickling and PassivationYu Leng0Daijun Yang1Pingwen Ming2Bing Li3Cunman Zhang4New Energy Automotive Engineering Centre, Tongji University, 4800 Caoangong Road, Shanghai 200029, ChinaNew Energy Automotive Engineering Centre, Tongji University, 4800 Caoangong Road, Shanghai 200029, ChinaNew Energy Automotive Engineering Centre, Tongji University, 4800 Caoangong Road, Shanghai 200029, ChinaNew Energy Automotive Engineering Centre, Tongji University, 4800 Caoangong Road, Shanghai 200029, ChinaNew Energy Automotive Engineering Centre, Tongji University, 4800 Caoangong Road, Shanghai 200029, ChinaCorrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of stainless steel bipolar plate remains a big challenge while it has been regarded as the most promising candidate for proton exchange membrane fuel cell. The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of pickling and passivation by sulfuric acid and a mixture of nitric and fluoric acids, respectively, on corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of stainless steel 316L (SS316L) bipolar plate. First, pickling of the specimens of SS316L is performed in a 15 wt.% H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>. Afterwards, the specimens are passivated in a mixture of 12 wt.% HF and 4 wt.% HNO<sub>3</sub>. Electrochemical and interfacial conductivity tests are conducted to examine the change in corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of SS316L. Finally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) reveal the evolution of surface morphology, chemical composition and surface conductivity. The results show that the corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of SS316L could be improved significantly by pickling and passivation. The increase in Cr:Fe ratio as well as a more uniform surface with higher conductivity is the main reason for the improvement of corrosion resistance and interfacial conductivity of SS316L.https://www.mdpi.com/2032-6653/12/3/101proton exchange membrane fuel cellstainless steel bipolar platepickling and passivationcorrosion resistanceelectrical conductivity
spellingShingle Yu Leng
Daijun Yang
Pingwen Ming
Bing Li
Cunman Zhang
Improvement of Corrosion Resistance and Electrical Conductivity of Stainless Steel 316L Bipolar Plate by Pickling and Passivation
World Electric Vehicle Journal
proton exchange membrane fuel cell
stainless steel bipolar plate
pickling and passivation
corrosion resistance
electrical conductivity
title Improvement of Corrosion Resistance and Electrical Conductivity of Stainless Steel 316L Bipolar Plate by Pickling and Passivation
title_full Improvement of Corrosion Resistance and Electrical Conductivity of Stainless Steel 316L Bipolar Plate by Pickling and Passivation
title_fullStr Improvement of Corrosion Resistance and Electrical Conductivity of Stainless Steel 316L Bipolar Plate by Pickling and Passivation
title_full_unstemmed Improvement of Corrosion Resistance and Electrical Conductivity of Stainless Steel 316L Bipolar Plate by Pickling and Passivation
title_short Improvement of Corrosion Resistance and Electrical Conductivity of Stainless Steel 316L Bipolar Plate by Pickling and Passivation
title_sort improvement of corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of stainless steel 316l bipolar plate by pickling and passivation
topic proton exchange membrane fuel cell
stainless steel bipolar plate
pickling and passivation
corrosion resistance
electrical conductivity
url https://www.mdpi.com/2032-6653/12/3/101
work_keys_str_mv AT yuleng improvementofcorrosionresistanceandelectricalconductivityofstainlesssteel316lbipolarplatebypicklingandpassivation
AT daijunyang improvementofcorrosionresistanceandelectricalconductivityofstainlesssteel316lbipolarplatebypicklingandpassivation
AT pingwenming improvementofcorrosionresistanceandelectricalconductivityofstainlesssteel316lbipolarplatebypicklingandpassivation
AT bingli improvementofcorrosionresistanceandelectricalconductivityofstainlesssteel316lbipolarplatebypicklingandpassivation
AT cunmanzhang improvementofcorrosionresistanceandelectricalconductivityofstainlesssteel316lbipolarplatebypicklingandpassivation