Open Access

REVIEW

Review of Conductive Polymer Coatings for Metallic Bipolar Plates in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Ziyang Niu^1,#, Xiaofen Wang^2,4,#, Yuanyuan Li^1,2,3,*, Zhuo He², Feng Huang¹, Qianjun Deng², Fei Hu², Qiongyu Zhou^2,*

1 The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430081, China
2 Key Laboratory of Green Surface Technology and Functional Coatings for Materials, China National Light Industry, Foshan University, Foshan, 528000, China
3 Analytical and Testing Center, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430081, China
4 School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China

* Corresponding Authors: Yuanyuan Li. Email: ; Qiongyu Zhou. Email:
# These two authors have contributed equally to this work

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Advances in Functional Polymer Composites: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications)

Journal of Polymer Materials 2025, 42(1), 57-80. https://doi.org/10.32604/jpm.2025.060401

Received 31 October 2024; Accepted 13 December 2024; Issue published 27 March 2025

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have gained increasing interests as promising power sources due to their ability to convert hydrogen and oxygen directly into electricity with high efficiency and zero greenhouse gas emissions. Bipolar plates (BPs) are considered as a critical component of PEMFCs, serving to collect current, separate gases, distribute the flow field, and conduct heat. This paper reviews the technical status and advancements in BP materials, with special focus on strategies for enhancing interfacial contact resistance (ICR) and corrosion resistance through conductive polymer (CP) coatings. First, commonly used BP materials in PEMFCs are summarized. Then, the advantages and limitations of various coatings for metallic BPs are discussed. Finally, recent progress in CP coatings for metallic BPs, aimed at achieving high corrosion resistance and low ICR, is comprehensively reviewed.

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