In the field of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), amorphous carbon (a-C) films have attracted considerable attention as a surface functional coating for metallic bipolar plates (BPPs), given that they can endow metallic BPPs with both high corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity under harsh PEMFC environments. In this study, to determine the role of a-C/metallic substrate interfaces on the performance of PEMFCs, and clarify the associated degradation mechanism, a series of a-C films are deposited on 316L stainless steel (316Lss) samples at different sputtering powers. The composition, microstructure, interfacial contact resistance (ICR), and corrosion resistance of the a-C films are then systemically investigated, before and after electrochemical corrosion tests. The results obtained reveal that all the a-C films can greatly improve the performance of 316Lss under simulated PEMFC operational conditions, and the a-C film deposited at 0.9 kW exhibits the lowest corrosion current density ($~$7.52 × 10⁻³ μA cm⁻²) and minimum ICR values (2.91 and 4.00 mΩ cm², before and after the long-time potentiostatic polarization tests, respectively). Furthermore, residual chromium oxides, which possibly result in an increased in ICR values, are observed at the a-C/316Lss interface after corrosion test; thus, an interface-induced a-C film degradation mechanism is proposed.

在质子交换膜燃料电池（PEMFC）领域，无定形碳（aC）膜作为金属双极板（BPPs）的表面功能涂层，已经引起了相当大的关注，因为它们可以赋予金属BPP高耐蚀性和电学性能。 PEMFC恶劣环境下的导电性。在这项研究中，为了确定aC /金属基材界面对PEMFCs性能的作用，并弄清相关的降解机理，将一系列aC膜以不同的溅射功率沉积在316L不锈钢（316Lss）样品上。然后，在电化学腐蚀测试之前和之后，系统地研究了aC膜的组成，微观结构，界面接触电阻（ICR）和耐腐蚀性。$〜$7.52×10 ^-3  μA厘米^-2）和最小ICR值（2.91和4.00毫欧厘米²分别前后长时间电位极化测试，）。此外，腐蚀试验后在aC / 316Lss界面观察到残留的氧化铬，可能导致ICR值增加；因此，提出了界面诱导的aC膜降解机理。