Corrosion Properties of Boron- and Manganese-Alloyed Stainless Steels as a Material for the Bipolar Plates of PEM Fuel Cells.

Stainless steels are materials that could be used for constructing not only the bearing parts of fuel cells but also the functional ones, particularly the bipolar plates. The advantage of stainless steel is its valuable electrical and thermal conductivity, reasonably low cost, excellent mechanical properties, and good formability. Paradoxically, the self-protection effect resulting from passivation turns into the main disadvantage, which is unacceptable interfacial contact resistance.