[Background and purposes]Proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs),which convert hydrogen energy directly into electrical energy and water,have received overwhelming attention,owing to their potential to significant...[Background and purposes]Proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs),which convert hydrogen energy directly into electrical energy and water,have received overwhelming attention,owing to their potential to significantly reduce energy consumption,pollution emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.Bipolar plates are the major part and key component of PEMFCs stack,which provide mechanical strength,collect and conduct current segregate oxidants and reduce agents.They contribute 70-80%weight and 20-30%cost of a whole stack,while significantly affecting the power density.There are three types plates,including metal bipolar plate,graphite bipolar plate and composite bipolar plate.Stainless steel bipolar plates,as one of metal bipolar plate,exhibit promising manufacturability,competitive cost and durability among various metal materials.However,stainless steel would be corroded in the harsh acid(pH 2-5)and humid PEMFCs environment,whereas the leached ions will contaminate the membrane.In addition,the passivated film formed on the surface will increase the interfacial contact resistance(ICR).In order to improve the corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of steel bipolar plates,surface coatings are essential.Metal nitride coatings,metal carbide coatings,polymer coatings and carbon-based coatings have been introduced in recent years.Carbon-based coatings,mainly including a-C(amorphous Carbon),Ta-C(Tetrahedral amorphous carbon)and DLC(diamond-like carbon),have attracted considerable attention from both academia and industry,owing to their superior performance,such as chemical inertness,mechanical hardness and electrical conductivity.However,Ta-C films as protective coating of PEMFCs have been rarely reported,due to the difficulty in production for industrial application.In this paper,multi-layer Ta-C composite films were produced by using customized industrial-scale vacuum equipment to address those issues.[Methods]Multiple layered Ta-C coatings were prepared by using PIS624 equipment,which assembled filtered cathodic arc evaporation,ion beam and magnetron sputtering into one equipment,while SS304 and silicon specimens were used as substrate for testing and analysis.Adhesion layer and intermediate layer were deposited by using magnetron sputtering at deposition temperature of 150℃and pressure of 3×10^(−1) Pa,while the sputtering current was set to be 5 A and bias power to be 300 V.The Ta-C layer was coated at arc current of 80-100 A,bias voltage of 1500 V and gas flow of 75 sccm.A scanning electron microscope(CIQTEK SEM3200)was used to characterize surface morphology,coating structure and cross-section profile of the coatings.Raman spectrometer(LabRam HR Evolution,HORIBA JOBIN YVON)was used to identify the bonding valence states.Electrochemical tests were performed by using an electrochemical work station(CHI760,Shanghai Chenhua Instrument Co.,Ltd.),with the traditional three electrode system,where saturated Ag/AgCl and platinum mesh were used as the reference electrode and counter electrode,respectively.All samples were mounted in plastic tube and sealed with epoxy resin,with an exposure area of 2.25 cm^(2),serving as the working electrode.Electrochemical measurements were carried out in simulated PEMFCs cathode environment in 0.5 mol·L^(−1) H_(2)SO_(4)+5 ppm F−solution,at operating temperature of 70℃.As the cathode environment was harsher than the anode environment,all the samples are stabilized at the open-circuit potential(OCP)for approximately 30 min before the EIS measurements.ICR between bipolar plates and GDL was a key parameter affecting performance of the PEMFCs stack.The test sample sandwiched between 2 pieces of carbon paper(simulate gas diffusion layer,GDL)was placed between 2 gold-plated copper electrodes at a compaction pressure of 1.4 MPa,which was considered to be the conventional compaction pressure in the PEMFCs.Under the same conditions,the resistance of a single carbon paper was measured as well.The ICR was calculated according to the formula ICR=1/2(R2−R1)×S,where S was the contact area between GDL and coated stainless steel BPPs.All data of ICR were measured three times for averaging.[Results]The coatings deposited by filtered cathodic arc technology were compact and smooth,which reduced coating porosity and favorable to corrosion resistance.The coating thickness of adhesion and intermediate layers were 180 nm,while the protective Ta-C coating thickness was about 300 nm,forming multiple coating to provide stronger protection for metal bipolar plates.Cr,Ti,Nb and Ta coatings were selected as adhesion layers for comparison.According to electrochemical test,Ta and Nb coatings have higher corrosion resistance.However,Ta and Nb materials would be costly when they are used for mass production.Relatively,Cr and Ti materials were cost effective.Hence,a comprehensive assessment was indispensable to decide the materials to be selected as adhesion layer.Ta-TiN and Ti-TiN combined adhesion and intermediate layer exhibited stronger corrosion resistance,with the corrosion current to be less than 10^(−6) A·cm^(−2).Ta-C protective coating deposited by using filtered cathodic arc technology indicated displayed higher corrosion resistance,with the average corrosion density to be about 1.26×10^(−7) A·cm^(−2).Ta-C coating also shown larger contact angle,with the highest hydrophobicity,which was one of the important advantages for Ta-C,in terms of corrosion resistance.According to Raman spectroscopy,the I(D)/I(G)=549.8/1126.7=0.487,with the estimated fraction of sp^(3) bonding to be in the range of 5154%.The intermediate layer TiN has higher conductivity than the CrN layer.Considering cost,corrosion performance and ICR result,the Ti-TiN layer combination is recommended for industrial scale application.[Conclusions]Multiple layer coating structure of Ta-C film had stronger corrosion resistance;with more than 50%sp^(3) content,while it also had larger water contact angle and higher corrosion resistance than DLC film.The filtered arcing deposition technology was able to make the film to be more consistent and stable than normal arcing technology in terms of the preparation of Ta-C.The coating displayed corrosion density of 1.26×10^(−7) A·cm^(−2) and ICR of less than 5 mΩ·cm^(2),far beyond technical target of 2025 DOE(US Department of Energy).This indicated that the mass-production scale coating technology for PEMFC bipolar plates is highly possible.展开更多
Objective The high energy ion bombardment technique is applied to enhancing the adhesion of the tetrahedral amorphous carbon (TAC) films deposited by the filtered cathode vacuum arc (FCVA). Methods The abrasion method...Objective The high energy ion bombardment technique is applied to enhancing the adhesion of the tetrahedral amorphous carbon (TAC) films deposited by the filtered cathode vacuum arc (FCVA). Methods The abrasion method, scratch method, heating and shaking method as well as boiling salt solution method is used to test the adhesion of the TAC films on various material substrates. Results The test results show that the adhesion is increased as the ion bombardment energy increases. However, if the bombardment energy were over the corresponding optimum value, the adhesion would be enhanced very slowly for the harder material substrates and drops quickly, for the softer ones. Conclusion The optimum values of the ion bombardment energy are larger for the harder materials than that for the softer ones.展开更多
Tetrahedral amorphous carbon(ta‐C)has emerged as an excellent coating material for improving the reliability of application components under high normal loads.Herein,we present the results of our investigations regar...Tetrahedral amorphous carbon(ta‐C)has emerged as an excellent coating material for improving the reliability of application components under high normal loads.Herein,we present the results of our investigations regarding the mechanical and tribological properties of a 2‐μm‐thick multilayer ta‐C coating on high‐speed steel substrates.Multilayers composed of alternating soft and hard layers are fabricated using filtered a cathodic vacuum arc with alternating substrate bias voltages(0 and 100 V or 0 and 150 V).The thickness ratio is discovered to be 1:3 for the sp2‐rich and sp3‐rich layers.The results show that the hardness and elastic modulus of the multilayer ta‐C coatings increase with the sp3 content of the hard layer.The hardness reached approximately 37 GPa,whereas an improved toughness and a higher adhesion strength(>29 N)are obtained.The friction performance(μ=0.07)of the multilayer coating is similar to that of the single layer ta‐C thick coating,but the wear rate(0.13×10^(–6) mm^(3)/(N∙m))improved under a high load of 30 N.We further demonstrate the importance of the multilayer structure in suppressing crack propagation and increasing the resistance to plastic deformation(H3/E2)ratio.展开更多
In this work,the high temperature friction mechanism of the tetrahedral amorphous carbon(ta-C)film was elucidated.The multilayer ta-C film with alternating hard and soft sub-layers exhibited a low friction coefficient...In this work,the high temperature friction mechanism of the tetrahedral amorphous carbon(ta-C)film was elucidated.The multilayer ta-C film with alternating hard and soft sub-layers exhibited a low friction coefficient of 0.14 at 400℃ before a sudden failure occurred at 4600 cycles.The wear failure was attributed to the gradual consumption of the ta-C film at the contact region.The design of a hard or soft top layer effectively regulated the high temperature friction properties of the multilayer ta-C.The addition of a hard top layer contributed to a low friction coefficient(0.11)and a minor wear rate(4.0×10^(-7)mm^(3)/(N m)),while a soft top layer deteriorated the lubrication effect.It was proposed that the passivation of dangling bonds at the sliding interface dominated the low-friction mechanism of the ta-C film at high temperature,while the friction induced graphitization and the formation of sp^(2)-rich carbonaceous transfer layer triggered C-C inter-film bonding,resulting in serious adhesion force and lubrication failure.Moreover,the multilayer ta-C film with hard top layer obtained excellent friction performance within 500℃,while the high temperature induced oxidation and volatilization of carbon atoms led to the wear failure at 600℃.展开更多
基金Major Science and technology projects of Anhui Province (202103a05020003)。
文摘[Background and purposes]Proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs),which convert hydrogen energy directly into electrical energy and water,have received overwhelming attention,owing to their potential to significantly reduce energy consumption,pollution emissions and reliance on fossil fuels.Bipolar plates are the major part and key component of PEMFCs stack,which provide mechanical strength,collect and conduct current segregate oxidants and reduce agents.They contribute 70-80%weight and 20-30%cost of a whole stack,while significantly affecting the power density.There are three types plates,including metal bipolar plate,graphite bipolar plate and composite bipolar plate.Stainless steel bipolar plates,as one of metal bipolar plate,exhibit promising manufacturability,competitive cost and durability among various metal materials.However,stainless steel would be corroded in the harsh acid(pH 2-5)and humid PEMFCs environment,whereas the leached ions will contaminate the membrane.In addition,the passivated film formed on the surface will increase the interfacial contact resistance(ICR).In order to improve the corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of steel bipolar plates,surface coatings are essential.Metal nitride coatings,metal carbide coatings,polymer coatings and carbon-based coatings have been introduced in recent years.Carbon-based coatings,mainly including a-C(amorphous Carbon),Ta-C(Tetrahedral amorphous carbon)and DLC(diamond-like carbon),have attracted considerable attention from both academia and industry,owing to their superior performance,such as chemical inertness,mechanical hardness and electrical conductivity.However,Ta-C films as protective coating of PEMFCs have been rarely reported,due to the difficulty in production for industrial application.In this paper,multi-layer Ta-C composite films were produced by using customized industrial-scale vacuum equipment to address those issues.[Methods]Multiple layered Ta-C coatings were prepared by using PIS624 equipment,which assembled filtered cathodic arc evaporation,ion beam and magnetron sputtering into one equipment,while SS304 and silicon specimens were used as substrate for testing and analysis.Adhesion layer and intermediate layer were deposited by using magnetron sputtering at deposition temperature of 150℃and pressure of 3×10^(−1) Pa,while the sputtering current was set to be 5 A and bias power to be 300 V.The Ta-C layer was coated at arc current of 80-100 A,bias voltage of 1500 V and gas flow of 75 sccm.A scanning electron microscope(CIQTEK SEM3200)was used to characterize surface morphology,coating structure and cross-section profile of the coatings.Raman spectrometer(LabRam HR Evolution,HORIBA JOBIN YVON)was used to identify the bonding valence states.Electrochemical tests were performed by using an electrochemical work station(CHI760,Shanghai Chenhua Instrument Co.,Ltd.),with the traditional three electrode system,where saturated Ag/AgCl and platinum mesh were used as the reference electrode and counter electrode,respectively.All samples were mounted in plastic tube and sealed with epoxy resin,with an exposure area of 2.25 cm^(2),serving as the working electrode.Electrochemical measurements were carried out in simulated PEMFCs cathode environment in 0.5 mol·L^(−1) H_(2)SO_(4)+5 ppm F−solution,at operating temperature of 70℃.As the cathode environment was harsher than the anode environment,all the samples are stabilized at the open-circuit potential(OCP)for approximately 30 min before the EIS measurements.ICR between bipolar plates and GDL was a key parameter affecting performance of the PEMFCs stack.The test sample sandwiched between 2 pieces of carbon paper(simulate gas diffusion layer,GDL)was placed between 2 gold-plated copper electrodes at a compaction pressure of 1.4 MPa,which was considered to be the conventional compaction pressure in the PEMFCs.Under the same conditions,the resistance of a single carbon paper was measured as well.The ICR was calculated according to the formula ICR=1/2(R2−R1)×S,where S was the contact area between GDL and coated stainless steel BPPs.All data of ICR were measured three times for averaging.[Results]The coatings deposited by filtered cathodic arc technology were compact and smooth,which reduced coating porosity and favorable to corrosion resistance.The coating thickness of adhesion and intermediate layers were 180 nm,while the protective Ta-C coating thickness was about 300 nm,forming multiple coating to provide stronger protection for metal bipolar plates.Cr,Ti,Nb and Ta coatings were selected as adhesion layers for comparison.According to electrochemical test,Ta and Nb coatings have higher corrosion resistance.However,Ta and Nb materials would be costly when they are used for mass production.Relatively,Cr and Ti materials were cost effective.Hence,a comprehensive assessment was indispensable to decide the materials to be selected as adhesion layer.Ta-TiN and Ti-TiN combined adhesion and intermediate layer exhibited stronger corrosion resistance,with the corrosion current to be less than 10^(−6) A·cm^(−2).Ta-C protective coating deposited by using filtered cathodic arc technology indicated displayed higher corrosion resistance,with the average corrosion density to be about 1.26×10^(−7) A·cm^(−2).Ta-C coating also shown larger contact angle,with the highest hydrophobicity,which was one of the important advantages for Ta-C,in terms of corrosion resistance.According to Raman spectroscopy,the I(D)/I(G)=549.8/1126.7=0.487,with the estimated fraction of sp^(3) bonding to be in the range of 5154%.The intermediate layer TiN has higher conductivity than the CrN layer.Considering cost,corrosion performance and ICR result,the Ti-TiN layer combination is recommended for industrial scale application.[Conclusions]Multiple layer coating structure of Ta-C film had stronger corrosion resistance;with more than 50%sp^(3) content,while it also had larger water contact angle and higher corrosion resistance than DLC film.The filtered arcing deposition technology was able to make the film to be more consistent and stable than normal arcing technology in terms of the preparation of Ta-C.The coating displayed corrosion density of 1.26×10^(−7) A·cm^(−2) and ICR of less than 5 mΩ·cm^(2),far beyond technical target of 2025 DOE(US Department of Energy).This indicated that the mass-production scale coating technology for PEMFC bipolar plates is highly possible.
文摘Objective The high energy ion bombardment technique is applied to enhancing the adhesion of the tetrahedral amorphous carbon (TAC) films deposited by the filtered cathode vacuum arc (FCVA). Methods The abrasion method, scratch method, heating and shaking method as well as boiling salt solution method is used to test the adhesion of the TAC films on various material substrates. Results The test results show that the adhesion is increased as the ion bombardment energy increases. However, if the bombardment energy were over the corresponding optimum value, the adhesion would be enhanced very slowly for the harder material substrates and drops quickly, for the softer ones. Conclusion The optimum values of the ion bombardment energy are larger for the harder materials than that for the softer ones.
基金This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Program of the Korea Institute of Materials Science(KIMS/PNK7000)the Fundamental R&D Program of the Ministry of Science,Information&Communication Technology(ICT)Future Planning in Republic of Korea.
文摘Tetrahedral amorphous carbon(ta‐C)has emerged as an excellent coating material for improving the reliability of application components under high normal loads.Herein,we present the results of our investigations regarding the mechanical and tribological properties of a 2‐μm‐thick multilayer ta‐C coating on high‐speed steel substrates.Multilayers composed of alternating soft and hard layers are fabricated using filtered a cathodic vacuum arc with alternating substrate bias voltages(0 and 100 V or 0 and 150 V).The thickness ratio is discovered to be 1:3 for the sp2‐rich and sp3‐rich layers.The results show that the hardness and elastic modulus of the multilayer ta‐C coatings increase with the sp3 content of the hard layer.The hardness reached approximately 37 GPa,whereas an improved toughness and a higher adhesion strength(>29 N)are obtained.The friction performance(μ=0.07)of the multilayer coating is similar to that of the single layer ta‐C thick coating,but the wear rate(0.13×10^(–6) mm^(3)/(N∙m))improved under a high load of 30 N.We further demonstrate the importance of the multilayer structure in suppressing crack propagation and increasing the resistance to plastic deformation(H3/E2)ratio.
基金funded by The National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China(No.52025014)National Science and Technology Major Project(No.2017-VII-0012-0108)+2 种基金K.C.Wong Education Foundation(No.GJTD-2019-13)CAS Interdisciplinary Innovation Team(No.292020000008)Ningbo Science and Technology Innovation Project(No.2018B10012)。
文摘In this work,the high temperature friction mechanism of the tetrahedral amorphous carbon(ta-C)film was elucidated.The multilayer ta-C film with alternating hard and soft sub-layers exhibited a low friction coefficient of 0.14 at 400℃ before a sudden failure occurred at 4600 cycles.The wear failure was attributed to the gradual consumption of the ta-C film at the contact region.The design of a hard or soft top layer effectively regulated the high temperature friction properties of the multilayer ta-C.The addition of a hard top layer contributed to a low friction coefficient(0.11)and a minor wear rate(4.0×10^(-7)mm^(3)/(N m)),while a soft top layer deteriorated the lubrication effect.It was proposed that the passivation of dangling bonds at the sliding interface dominated the low-friction mechanism of the ta-C film at high temperature,while the friction induced graphitization and the formation of sp^(2)-rich carbonaceous transfer layer triggered C-C inter-film bonding,resulting in serious adhesion force and lubrication failure.Moreover,the multilayer ta-C film with hard top layer obtained excellent friction performance within 500℃,while the high temperature induced oxidation and volatilization of carbon atoms led to the wear failure at 600℃.
