Effect of FTO coated on stainless steel bipolar plate for PEM fuel cells

A polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell has been getting large interest as a typical issue in useful applications. The PEMFC is composed of a membrane, catalyst and the bipolar plate. SnOx:F films on SUS316 stainless steel were prepared as a function of substrate with using electron cyclotron resonance-metal organic chemical vapor deposition (ECR-MOCVD) in order to achieve the corrosion-resistant and low contact resistance bipolar plates for PEM fuel cells. The SnOx:F films coated on SUS316 substrate at surface plasma treatment for excellent stability, before/after heat treatment for good crystalline structure and microwave power for were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), auger electron microscopy (AES) and field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The SnOx:F film coated on SUS316 substrate with various process parameters were able to observe optimum interfacial contact resistance (ICR) and corrosion resistance. It can be concluded that fluorine-doping content plays an important function in electrical property and characteristic of corrosion-protective film.