ABSTRACT In this study, a composite made of a porous stainless steel (SS) 316L substrate coated with Nb was investigated as a novel porous transport layer (PTL) for proton exchange membrane electrolysis cells (PEMECs). The fabrication of such SS316L/Nb composites using scalable and automatable powder metallurgical techniques as tape casting, screen-printing and field assisted sintering technology/spark plasma sintering (FAST/SPS) was described. Sintering behaviour and the interdiffusion at the SS316L/Nb interface were investigated. Powder metallurgical techniques such as screen-printing are the preferred method to achieve a porous Nb coating, while FAST/SPS is the preferred method for a better control of the SS316L/Nb interface by lowered interdiffusion. First electrochemical performance tests with SS316L/Nb composites demonstrate they have potential to replace the state-of-the-art titanium-based PTLs. The use of SS316L is expected to decrease manufacturing costs of PTLs, while the addition of niobium layer, due to its excellent corrosion resistance in acid environment, aims to improve PEMECs lifetime and performance.

中文翻译：

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用于质子交换膜电解槽的 316L 不锈钢/铌复合材料的粉末冶金生产

摘要 在本研究中，研究了由涂有 Nb 的多孔不锈钢 (SS) 316L 基材制成的复合材料作为质子交换膜电解槽 (PEMEC) 的新型多孔传输层 (PTL)。描述了使用可扩展和自动化的粉末冶金技术制造这种 SS316L/Nb 复合材料，如流延、丝网印刷和场辅助烧结技术/火花等离子体烧结 (FAST/SPS)。研究了 SS316L/Nb 界面的烧结行为和相互扩散。丝网印刷等粉末冶金技术是获得多孔 Nb 涂层的首选方法，而 FAST/SPS 是通过降低相互扩散更好地控制 SS316L/Nb 界面的首选方法。SS316L/Nb 复合材料的首次电化学性能测试表明，它们有可能取代最先进的钛基 PTL。SS316L 的使用有望降低 PTL 的制造成本，而添加铌层，由于其在酸性环境中具有出色的耐腐蚀性，旨在提高 PEMEC 的寿命和性能。