Effect of Arabic Gum Electrophoresis Desposition on Corrosion of SS316L in Acidic

Stainless steel 316L (SS316L) has the potential to be used as a bipolar plate for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). SS316L has good electrical conductivity and passivity, but if used in acidic environments (pH 3-6), passivity will changed and cause corrosion. In this study, green inhibitor with an electrophoresis desposition (EPD) technique was used to reduce the corrosion of SS316L plates. The results of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis show that the SS316L surface is smoother and thicker, with a thickness of between 4.9 – 8.9 μm. Testing using linear polarization Tafel method in 0.5 M H_2SO_4 medium, found that the corrosion current value (I_corr) decreased with the presence of the coating i.e. from 18.484 μA / cm^2 to 0.859 μA / cm^2, SS316L corrosion rate without coating is 0.7172 mpy, whereas SS316L coated with arabic gam has a lower corrosion rate of 0.033 mpy. From this study, the finding of this study showed that arabic gum with EPD coating technique can provide corrosion protection against the surface of SS316L.