Preparation of Ta-based layer on SS316N as bipolar plate of high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells by molten salts disproportionation reaction

In this study, a dense Ta-based layer with a thickness of 400 nm was fabricated on SS316N bipolar plates (Ta-SS316N) by using a disproportionation reaction of Ta in a K2TaF7-Ta(powders)-KCl-NaCl molten salt system at 900 °C for 6 h. According to XRD analysis, the Ta-based layer was mainly composed o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCeramics international Vol. 50; no. 17; pp. 30461 - 30473
Main Authors Xiong, Feng, Deng, Hao, Luo, Ruoyin, Gao, Shaojie, Fan, Chenming, Gao, Xin, Li, Bing
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2024
Subjects
Disproportionation reaction
High temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell
Molten salt
Tantalum
High temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell
Tantalum
Disproportionation reaction
Molten salt
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Summary:In this study, a dense Ta-based layer with a thickness of 400 nm was fabricated on SS316N bipolar plates (Ta-SS316N) by using a disproportionation reaction of Ta in a K2TaF7-Ta(powders)-KCl-NaCl molten salt system at 900 °C for 6 h. According to XRD analysis, the Ta-based layer was mainly composed of metallic Ta as well as Ta2N0.86. In the simulated HT-PEMFC cathode environment, the corrosion current density of Ta-SS316N obtained from the potentiodynamicl polarization curves was 0.96 μA/cm2, which meets the 2025 U S. DOE standard. Compared to the SS316N substrate, Ta-SS316N showed two orders of magnitude higher corrosion resistance and nearly 1 V higher self-corrosion potential, with an interfacial contact resistance of 27.5 mΩ∙cm2, accounting for about one-quarter that of SS316N substrate. This provides a low-cost, easy-to-operate method to prepare Ta-based layer on stainless steel bipolar plates used for HT-PEMFC.
ISSN:0272-8842
1873-3956
DOI:10.1016/j.ceramint.2024.05.344