Performance of TiC coating prepared by in situ conversion of organic carbon film on 316L bipolar plate

TiC coating on 316L stainless steel surface is prepared by molten salt disproportionation reaction by using carbon layer converted from organic carbon solution as carbon source. The Raman and morphology characterizations show that the carbon layer and TiC coating are successfully prepared on the surface of 316L stainless steel, the prepared carbon layer and 316L matrix have good adhesion, and the prepared TiC coating is smooth and dense. In the simulated cathodic environment of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell, the potentiostatic and potentiodynamic polarization measurements show that the TiC coating has smaller and more stable current density fluctuation than the 316L stainless steel substrate, and the electrochemical impedance test lasting for 275 h still shows better stable corrosion resistance than that of the 316L stainless steel substrate. Finally, in the water contact angle and interface contact resistance tests, the TiC coating consistently maintained better hydrophobicity and lower interface contact resistance values than 316L stainless steel.