KR20130074216A - Stainless steel for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell separator and the method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A stainless steel for the separator of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell and a manufacturing method thereof are provided to secure the low interfacial contact resistance, thereby obtaining the steel suitable for the separator. CONSTITUTION: A stainless steel for the separator of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell comprises 0 to 0.02 wt% of C, 0 to 0.02 wt% of N, 0 to 0.4 wt% of Si, 0 to 0.2 wt% of Mn, 0 to 0.04 wt% of P, 0 to 0.02 wt% of S, 25 to 34 wt% of Cr, 0 to below 2.5 wt% of Mo, 0 to 1 wt% of Cu, 0 to below 0.2 wt% of Ni, 0 to 0.5 wt% of Ti, 0 to 0.5 wt% of Nb, Fe, and other inevitable impurities. The hydroxide/oxide ratio of a passive film on the surface of the steel is over 1, and the interfacial contact resistance of the film is below 20 mΩcm^2 (150 N/cm^2). The steel further includes one or two elements selected from a group of composites added with one or a mixture of over 0.2 to 1 of V wt% and 0 to 4 wt% of W. A Cr-hydroxide/oxide ratio inside the film is over 2. [Reference numerals] (AA) Intensity; (BB) Hydroxide; (CC) Oxide; (DD) Invention example 4; (EE) Invention example 3; (FF) Invention example 2; (GG) Invention example 1; (HH) Comparative example 2; (II) Comparative example 1; (JJ) Comparative example 3; (KK) Binding energy (eV)

Description

Stainless steel for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell separator and the method of manufacturing the same}

The present invention relates to a stainless steel for a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell separator and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a stainless steel for a polymer fuel cell separator having a low interfacial contact resistance and a method for manufacturing the same.

A polymer fuel cell is a fuel cell that uses a polymer membrane having hydrogen ion exchange characteristics as an electrolyte, and has a low operating temperature and high efficiency at about 80 ° C. compared with other types of fuel cells. Also, it has high current density and power density, simple structure, fast starting and response characteristics, and can be used as a power source for automobiles and households.

The main components of such a solid polymer fuel cell consist of a polymer electrolyte membrane, an electrode, and a separator to form a stack. In the solid polymer fuel cell, the separator plate is formed so as to block hydrogen gas and oxygen gas as reaction gases from each other, to electrically connect membrane electrode assembly (MEA), to support the membrane electrode assembly, And maintains the shape. Therefore, it should have a dense structure such that the two gases are not mixed, and should have good electrical conductivity for the role of the conductor and sufficient mechanical strength for the role of the support.

The separator is generally formed of one of graphite, carbon, Ti alloy, stainless steel and conductive plastic, and may preferably be formed of stainless steel. Stainless steel has the advantage of being able to achieve thermal conductivity, low gas permeability, and large area, and can form a good product and be made into a thin piece, thereby reducing the volume and weight of the fuel cell stack.

However, when a stainless steel separator is used, there is a problem that corrosion occurs in an acidic electrolytic solution to contaminate electrodes and electrolytes, and the interface contact resistance increases due to corrosion products on the surface.

In order to solve this problem, a method of applying a conductive coating on the surface of a metal bipolar material has been proposed. In this method, the interfaces generated by the coating are not only susceptible to corrosion due to deterioration of chemical stability. There is a problem that additional costs are caused. In addition, US Patent No. 6379476B1 proposes a method of reducing the interfacial contact resistance by having an average roughness (Ra) of 0.06 ~ 5 ㎛. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-026694 discloses a method of obtaining surface characteristics to a desired level by forming a micro pit of 0.01 · ~ 1.0 μm over the entire surface, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-091225 The arc proposes a method of reducing contact resistance by forming a micro fit as well as securing a Cr / Fe atomic ratio of 4 or more.

However, the method of reducing the interfacial contact resistance by adjusting the surface roughness of the fuel cell separator as described above has a problem that it is difficult to stably ensure a low interfacial contact resistance due to the non-conductive passivation film formed on the stainless steel surface.

The present invention provides a stainless steel for fuel cell separator plate and a method for manufacturing the same that can secure a low interfacial contact resistance through a surface modification process to solve the above problems of the prior art and to meet the demand of a new separator material. For the purpose of

In the present invention, by weight%, C: 0 to 0.02, N: 0 to 0.02, Si: 0 to 0.4, Mn: 0 to 0.2, P: 0 to 0.04, S: 0 to 0.02, Cr: 25 to 34, Mo : Less than 0 to 2.5, Cu: 0 to 1, Ni: less than 0 to 0.2, Ti: 0 to 0.5, Nb: 0 to 0.5 and Fe and other unavoidable impurities, and the stainless steel surface passivation coating contains at least one hydroxide / 20mΩ㎠ with interfacial contact resistance Provided are stainless steels for polymer fuel cell separators of less than (150 N / cm 2).

In the present invention, the stainless steel further includes one or two kinds of elements selected from the group consisting of a composition in which V: over 0.2 and 1 and W: 0 to 4 are added by weight or by weight.

Further, in the present invention, the Cr hydroxide / oxide ratio in the passivation film of the stainless steel is two or more.

Further, in another embodiment of the present invention, in weight percent, C: 0 to 0.02, N: 0 to 0.02, Si: 0 to 0.4, Mn: 0 to 0.2, P: 0 to 0.04, S: 0 to 0.02, Cr: 25-34, Mo: 0-2.5, Cu: 0-1, Ni: 0-0.2, Ti: 0-0.5, Nb: 0-0.5 and Fe and other unavoidable impurities Is immersed in a solution maintained at a composition of 1 to 5 molar concentrations of sodium hydroxide so that the stainless steel surface passivation coating has a hydroxide / oxide ratio of at least 1 and the interface contact resistance is 20 m 저항 ㎠. Provided is a method for manufacturing a stainless steel for a polymer fuel cell separator, which is controlled to be (150 N / cm 2) or less.

In the present invention, the stainless steel is immersed for 1 to 5 minutes in the sodium hydroxide solution.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to secure low interfacial contact resistance by modifying the passivation coating on the surface of the stainless steel with the alloy composition range of the present invention, and to obtain a suitable stainless steel for polymer fuel cell separator. .

1 is a graph showing an example of XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) analysis of a passivation film after surface modification according to the present invention and a comparative example.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural forms as well, unless the phrases clearly indicate the opposite. As used herein, the term "comprising" embodies a particular characteristic, region, integer, step, operation, element, and / or component, and other specific characteristics, region, integer, step, operation, element, component, and / or group. It does not exclude the presence or addition of.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms including technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Commonly used predefined terms are further interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the relevant technical literature and the present disclosure, and are not to be construed as ideal or very formal meanings unless defined otherwise.

In general, stainless steel for fuel cell separators may have a problem of increasing interfacial contact resistance due to the non-conductive passivation film formed on the surface of the stainless steel. Therefore, in order to secure a low interfacial contact resistance, it is preferable to perform an optimum alloy design and a passivation film reforming treatment suitable for the alloy design so that the stainless steel for fuel cell separator has a low contact resistance.

Stainless steel of the present Example is weight%, C: 0 to 0.02, N: 0 to 0.02, Si: 0 to 0.4, Mn: 0 to 0.2, P: 0 to 0.04, S: 0 to 0.02, Cr: 25 to 34, Mo: less than 0 to 2.5, Cu: 0 to 1, Ni: less than 0 to 0.2, Ti: 0 to 0.5, Nb: 0 to 0.5 in a composition of V: 0.2 to 1, W: 0 to 4 Alternatively, the base material is made of alloyed stainless steel by mixing and adding. And the stainless steel of the said composition is manufactured by slab by a vacuum induction, and it hot-rolls, repeats annealing, pickling, cold rolling, and annealing, and manufactures the cold rolled sheet material which has a thickness of 2 mm. The composition of the stainless steel produced by the present alloy design is shown in Table 1 below.

Hereinafter, the reason for limiting each component content will be described in detail. In addition, all the percentages described below are% by weight.

C and N form Cr carbonitride in stainless steel, and as a result, the corrosion resistance of the Cr-deficient layer is lowered, so the lower the content of the two elements is preferable. In the present invention, the composition ratio is limited to C: 0.02% or less and N: 0.02% or less.

Since Si suppresses the element, toughness, and moldability which are effective for deoxidation, in the present invention, the composition ratio of Si is limited to within 0.4%.

Mn is an element that increases deoxidation, but the inclusion MnS reduces corrosion resistance. In the present invention, the composition ratio of Mn is limited to within 0.2%.

Since P not only reduces corrosion resistance but also toughness, in this embodiment, the composition ratio of P is limited to within 0.04%.

S forms MnS, which becomes a starting point of corrosion and reduces corrosion resistance. In this embodiment, the composition ratio of S is limited to within 0.02% in consideration of this.

Cr increases the corrosion resistance in the acidic atmosphere in which the fuel cell is operated, but reduces the toughness, and therefore, in this embodiment, the appropriate composition ratio of Cr is limited to 25% to 34%.

Mo is advantageous in corrosion resistance, but may deteriorate the economics and toughness of the material. In this embodiment, the composition ratio of Mo is limited to the range of 0% to less than 2.5%.

Cu increases the corrosion resistance in an acidic atmosphere in which the fuel cell operates, but the performance of the fuel cell may be degraded due to the elution of Cu when excessively added. In this embodiment, the composition ratio of Cu is limited within 0% to 1% in consideration of this.

When Ni is excessively added, Ni elution and moldability may decrease. In this embodiment, the composition ratio of Ni is limited to less than 0.2% in consideration of this.

Ti and Nb deteriorate the element and toughness effective for forming C and N in carbon as carbonitrides. In this embodiment, each composition ratio is limited to 0.5% or less in consideration of this.

In addition to this, one or two or more kinds of V and W may be added, and their composition ratios are as follows.

V increases the corrosion resistance in the acidic atmosphere in which the fuel cell operates, but when excessively added, ions are eluted and the performance of the cell may be degraded. In this embodiment, the composition ratio of V is limited to more than 0.2 ~ 1% in consideration of this.

W has the effect of increasing the corrosion resistance and lowering the interfacial contact resistance in the acidic atmosphere in which the fuel cell operates, but deteriorates the toughness upon excessive addition. In this embodiment, the composition ratio of W is limited to 4% or less in consideration of this.

In addition, the present invention through the process of playing, hot rolling, cold rolling and annealing the stainless steel made of the above composition to produce a stainless steel sheet. In addition, a separate surface modification treatment is performed on the stainless steel to reduce interfacial contact resistance.

The following describes a method for manufacturing a stainless steel material having a low interfacial contact resistance for the purpose of the polymer fuel cell separator of the present invention.

First, a passivation film reforming treatment of maintaining a suitable time in a solution having a composition of 1 to 5 mol concentration sodium hydroxide of the stainless steel of the composition is carried out. Accordingly, the stainless steel surface passivation film has one or more hydroxide / oxide ratios, and in particular, three or more Cr hydroxide / oxide ratios, so that the interfacial contact resistance of the stainless steel can be 20 mΩcm 2 or less.

Hereinafter, a stainless steel material having a low interfacial contact resistance for the purpose of a polymer fuel cell separator will be described in more detail with reference to Examples.

(Example)

Since stainless steel is combined with oxygen in the air in a natural state to form a thin protective passivation film on the surface, it is difficult to secure stable low interfacial contact resistance. Therefore, it is necessary to modify the passivation film existing on the stainless steel surface. In addition, since the passivation film formed in the air has a high Fe content, it must be reformed into a passivation film containing Cr by increasing the ratio of Cr to be used for a fuel cell separator. The reason is that Cr oxides and hydroxides are more stable than Fe oxides and hydroxides, and thus are more suitable as surface products of fuel cell separators requiring high corrosion resistance.

Therefore, in the present invention, the surface modification treatment was performed by maintaining an appropriate time in a solution having a composition of 1 to 5 molar concentration sodium hydroxide.

In the present invention, the concentration of sodium hydroxide is limited to 1 to 5 molar concentrations, but the effect of surface modification is less than 1 molar concentration, on the contrary, if the concentration is too high such as exceeding 5 molar concentrations, serious damage to the base material and The generation of a stable passivation film can be reduced.

Table 2 shows the results of the evaluation of the steel sheet of Example 1 of Table 1 while varying the surface modification conditions (the concentration of the immersion solution and the immersion time).

The interface contact resistance according to Inventive Examples 1 to 4 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3 of the present invention shown in Table 2 will be described. In addition, after performing surface modification according to the comparative example and the invention example, the passivation film was analyzed by XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and the results are shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in Table 2, it can be seen that the interface contact resistance decreases as the immersion time increases in the sodium hydroxide solution of 1 mol concentration. As seen in Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, immersion for 1 minute or 3 minutes in a 1 molar sodium hydroxide solution did not show a decrease in contact resistance, and the hydroxide / oxide ratio and Cr hydroxide / oxide ratio in the passivation film were not shown. The value similar to the comparative example 3 was shown. This result means that it is difficult to modify the surface of the passivation film required by the present invention with a low concentration of sodium hydroxide and a short immersion time.

On the other hand, as shown in Inventive Example 1, the immersion for 5 minutes even in a 1 molar sodium hydroxide solution increased the hydroxide / oxide ratio and Cr hydroxide / oxide ratio in the passivation film compared to Comparative Example 3 and the interface contact resistance is also 20 mΩ ㎠ It can be seen that the decrease below. Therefore, it can be seen that even at low sodium hydroxide concentration, if the immersion time is long, the passivation film is modified.

In addition, as shown in Inventive Example 2, even when the immersion time is 1 minute, when the concentration of sodium hydroxide is 5 mol concentration, the hydroxide / oxide ratio and Cr hydroxide / oxide ratio in the passivation film was greatly increased and showed low interfacial contact resistance.

As can be seen from Inventive Examples 1 to 4, it can be seen that, with an appropriate concentration of sodium hydroxide and immersion time, a high hydroxide / oxide ratio, Cr hydroxide / oxide ratio, and interfacial contact resistance of 20 mΩcm 2 or less in the passivation film can be secured. have.

In particular, as shown in Inventive Example 2, after immersion for 1 minute in a 5 molar sodium hydroxide solution it can be seen that the hydroxide / oxide ratio in the passivation film is 1.2, the Cr hydroxide / oxide ratio is 3 or more. have.

As shown in Table 2 and FIG. 1, the hydroxide / oxide ratio and Cr hydroxide / oxide ratio in the passivation film were controlled according to the immersion conditions, and the interface contact resistance increased as the hydroxide / oxide ratio and Cr hydroxide / oxide ratio in the passivation film were increased. This decrease was found. In addition, it can be seen that the interfacial contact resistance of 20 mΩcm 2 or less can be secured when the hydroxide / oxide ratio and Cr hydroxide / oxide ratio in the passivation film are 1.0 and 2.2 or more, respectively, under appropriate immersion conditions.

In the above experiments, in the surface modification method of the stainless steel having the composition range of the present invention, the composition of the immersion solution and the immersion time act as important factors for increasing the hydroxide / oxide ratio and Cr hydroxide / oxide ratio in the passivation film and reducing the interfacial contact resistance. I could see.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, by immersing the surface of stainless steel in a sodium hydroxide solution, it is possible to ensure a hydroxide ratio of 1.0 or more and a Cr hydroxide / oxide ratio of 2.2 or more in the passivation film, and low interfacial contact of 20 mΩcm 2 or less. The resistance allows the production of stainless steel suitable for polymer fuel cell separators.

In the above-described invention, the polymer fuel cell separator is described as an example, but it can be applied to various other fuel cell separators.

Although the technical spirit of the present invention has been described in detail according to the above-described preferred invention, it should be noted that the above-described invention is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that various invention examples are possible within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

Claims (7)

By weight%, C: 0-0.02, N: 0-0.02, Si: 0-0.4, Mn: 0-0.2, P: 0-0.04, S: 0-0.02, Cr: 25-34, Mo: 0- Less than 2.5, Cu: 0 to 1, Ni: less than 0 to 0.2, Ti: 0 to 0.5, Nb: 0 to 0.5 and Fe and other unavoidable impurities, and the stainless steel surface passivation film is characterized by at least one hydroxide / oxide ratio. Interface contact resistance is 20mΩ㎠ (150N / ㎠ Stainless steel for polymer fuel cell separator plates of The method of claim 1,
The stainless steel is a weight%, stainless steel for polymer fuel cell separator further comprising one or two kinds of elements selected from the group consisting of a composition in which V: greater than 0.2 to 1 and W: 0 to 4 are added alone or in combination. River. The method of claim 1,
Stainless steel for a polymer fuel cell separator having a Cr hydroxide / oxide ratio of 2 or more in the passivation film of the stainless steel. By weight%, C: 0-0.02, N: 0-0.02, Si: 0-0.4, Mn: 0-0.2, P: 0-0.04, S: 0-0.02, Cr: 25-34, Mo: 0- Less than 2.5, Cu: 0 to 1, Ni: less than 0 to 0.2, Ti: 0 to 0.5, Nb: 0 to 0.5 and Fe and other unavoidable impurities, the stainless steel is composed of 1 to 5 molar concentrations of sodium hydroxide Method of manufacturing a stainless steel for a polymer fuel cell separator plate immersed in a solution maintained by the control to control the surface contact resistance of the stainless steel surface passivation film to have a hydroxide contact ratio of at least 20mΩ ㎠ (150N / ㎠) or less. 5. The method of claim 4,
The stainless steel is a weight%, stainless steel for polymer fuel cell separator further comprising one or two kinds of elements selected from the group consisting of a composition in which V: greater than 0.2 to 1 and W: 0 to 4 are added alone or in combination. Steel manufacturing method. 5. The method of claim 4,
The stainless steel is a stainless steel manufacturing method for a polymer fuel cell separator plate immersed for 1 to 5 minutes in the sodium hydroxide solution. 5. The method of claim 4,
The method of manufacturing a stainless steel for fuel cell separator further comprises the step of forming a thin plate for the fuel cell separator, the stainless steel manufactured to have an interfacial contact resistance of 20 mΩcm 2 or less.

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