Protective Thin-Film Coatings for Corrosion, Wear, and Fuel Cell Bipolar Plates
This research community develops thin-film coatings and surface treatments to enhance the durability, corrosion resistance, and mechanical performance of metals, with a significant focus on applications in fuel cell technology and semiconductor manufacturing.
The work centers on the deposition of protective layers using techniques such as magnetron sputtering, atomic layer deposition, and plasma nitriding. Key materials include titanium nitride, chromium nitride, and tin-based coatings applied to stainless steel, titanium, and other substrates. A major application area is the creation of corrosion-resistant and wear-resistant coatings for bipolar plates in proton exchange membrane fuel cells and water electrolyzers. The research also addresses the mechanical and tribological properties of these films, including their microstructure, residual stresses, and performance in harsh environments such as marine engineering and industrial processing.
The largest share of this community's output is found in tin research, accounting for 3.9% of all tin-related papers, and titanium research, representing 1.7% of titanium-related papers. Tin also contributes the highest number of papers within this group, with 6,001 entries, followed by titanium with 4,971.
The community comprises 31,204 papers, primarily published in Surface and Coatings Technology, Thin Solid Films, and MRS Proceedings.
Recent work continues to focus on advanced coating architectures for fuel cell bipolar plates, atomic layer deposition processes for semiconductor manufacturing, and the development of multilayer nitride coatings for enhanced corrosion and wear resistance in marine and industrial applications.