Preparation of Cr-based multilayer coating on stainless steel as bipolar plate for PEMFCs by magnetron sputtering

In the present study, a multilayer composing of Cr3Ni2/Cr2N/CrN is sputtered onto stainless steel. The potential of using the coated stainless steel as the bipolar plate for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is evaluated. The coated stainless steel exhibits improved corrosion resistance and higher electrical conductivity. The coated surface also demonstrates a hydrophobic characteristic. By using single cell test, the multilayer-coated SS304 plate exhibits an improved performance in terms of I–V properties.