High-durability titanium bipolar plate modified by electrochemical deposition of platinum for unitized regenerative fuel cell (URFC)

The electrochemical deposition of platinum on a titanium bipolar plate (Pt/Ti) was studied for applications in a unitized regenerative fuel cell (URFC). Platinum deposition on the titanium plate was carried out in the platinum precursor solution (1.8 g dm(-3)) at constant acidity (pH 1.0) and temperature (90 degrees C). The pre-treatment of the titanium plate and the applied deposition current density were optimized to obtain uniform deposition of platinum on the titanium plate. New bipolar plates were prepared using the optimized deposition process and were used in a URFC. Electrochemical deposition of platinum on the titanium plate can effectively prohibit the formation of a passive oxide layer and corrosion on the surface of the bipolar plate, leading to lower resistance and better performance. In addition, the stability of URFC performance after the operation of the cell at 2.0V for 1 h was significantly improved by the platinum deposition on the titanium bipolar plate. This improvement was mainly due to reduced corrosion on the surface of the bipolar plate. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.