Sintered steels as interconnectors in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

This paper presents opportunities for application of sintered stainless steels for interconnectors used in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Mechanical properties and corrosion resistance were compared in steels sintered with the pressures of 400MPa and 700MPa. In order to determine the effectiveness of the employed method of sinter preparation, the evaluation of microstructural and mechanical properties was carried out. A fundamental criterion for application of materials for fuel cell interconnectors is corrosion resistance under operating conditions of fuel cells. In order to determine the impact of sintering parameters on corrosion resistance in materials, potentiokinetic curves were recorded in the solution which simulated anode and cathode environments i.e. solution of 0.1 mol dm-3 H2SO4 + 2 ppmF-, saturated with hydrogen and oxygen at the temperature of T=80oC.