http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8028-9112
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ABSTRACT
In this study, a composite made of a porous stainless steel (SS) 316L substrate coated with Nb was investigated as a novel porous transport layer (PTL) for proton exchange membrane electrolysis cells (PEMECs). The fabrication of such SS316L/Nb composites using scalable and automatable powder metallurgical techniques as tape casting, screen-printing and field assisted sintering technology/spark plasma sintering (FAST/SPS) was described. Sintering behaviour and the interdiffusion at the SS316L/Nb interface were investigated. Powder metallurgical techniques such as screen-printing are the preferred method to achieve a porous Nb coating, while FAST/SPS is the preferred method for a better control of the SS316L/Nb interface by lowered interdiffusion. First electrochemical performance tests with SS316L/Nb composites demonstrate they have potential to replace the state-of-the-art titanium-based PTLs. The use of SS316L is expected to decrease manufacturing costs of PTLs, while the addition of niobium layer, due to its excellent corrosion resistance in acid environment, aims to improve PEMECs lifetime and performance.
Acknowledgements
Financial support from the Brazilian funding agency FAPEGRS is acknowledged. The authors are also grateful for the experimental support of Werner Herzhof and Denise Günther from the Institute of Energy and Climate Research, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH as well as of Angelica D. Schneider from Laboratório de Magnetismo e Materiais Magnéticos, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
N. F. Daudt recieved the Ph.D degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (2015). Currently she is an adjunct professor of the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil. Her research interest includes powder metallurgy of titanium alloys and materials processing by plasma-assisted technologies.
F. J. Hackemüller received the M. Sc. degree in applied physics from the University of Applied Science RheinMain in 2015. After his diploma, he started working at Forschungszentrum Jülich (Germany). From 2015 to 2018 he focused on processing techniques for solid oxide fuel and electrolysis cells at the Institute of Energy and Climate Research. Currently he is working on process development for micro and nano structures at the Helmholtz Nano Facility.
M. Bram received the PhD degree in Material Science in 1998 from University of Saarland, Saarbrücken, Germany. He is currently working as a group leader in the field of “Powder based processing and sintering” at the Institute of Energy and Climate Research (IEK-1: Materials Synthesis and Processing) of Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany. In 2012, he finished his habilitation at Ruhr University Bochum, where he is active as a lecturer. His main research interests are devoted to powder based processing of materials for energy applications like metal-supported fuel cells, electrolyzers, batteries and high temperature materials.
ORCID
N. F. Daudt http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8028-9112
F. J. Hackemüller http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1630-3175