Effects of potential on corrosion behavior of uncoated SS316L bipolar plate in simulated PEM fuel cell cathode environment

The effect of potential on the corrosion behavior of uncoated stainless steel SS316L as bipolar plate material in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell cathode environment is studied. Electrochemical methods, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope are employed to characterize the corrosion behavior of SS316L at different polarization potentials in PEM fuel cell cathode environment. The results show that the corrosion current density of SS316L increases with the increase of polarization potential significantly. When the potential is higher than 0.7 V versus SCE, severe corrosion occurs on SS316L. The work also shed light on the corrosion mechanisms of SS316L at different potential in the PEM fuel cell cathode environment.