The corrosion behavior of TA1 and TC4 in Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers

Abstract Titanium Bipolar Plates (BPPs) are frequently utilized in Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers (PEMWE) nowadays since they could endure the challenging working environment. Notably, extreme anodic potential and acidic environment of PEMWE extremely critical for BPPs’ performances. In this study, we explored corrosion behaviors conventional titanium alloys TA1 Ti-6Al-4V (TC4) at simulated operating conditions. To evaluate their behaviors, potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, potentiation, polarization experiments were executed. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was applied to detect morphologies before after measurements. Finally, mechanisms TC4 analyzed discussed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). After 7 days potentiostatic current density remained 3×10 −8 A·cm −2 , which nearly one order magnitude lower than that TC4. These experimental data confirmed alloy had superior resistance during long-term running