Separator for fuel cell with excellent corrosion resistance and conductivity and coating method therefor
View Patent ↗Disclosed are a separator for a fuel cell having excellent corrosion resistance and conductivity and a method of manufacturing the same. The separator includes a metal base material and a carbon coating layer formed on the surface of the metal base material, and the carbon coating layer includes carbon domains having a size in the range of about 15 to 30 nm.
1 . A separator for a fuel cell comprising:
a metal base material; and
a carbon coating layer disposed on a surface of the metal base material,
wherein the carbon coating layer comprises a carbon domain having a size in the range of about 15 to 30 nm;
wherein the separator further comprises a metal oxide film interposed between the metal base material and the carbon coating layer; and
wherein the metal oxide film has a ratio of peak areas at 704 eV to 713 eV of about 0.1 to 0.2 in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, the ratio of peak areas represented by the Formula 1:
A Fe—O /( A Fe—O +A Fe ) [Formula 1]
where A Fe—O is a peak area representing an Fe—O binding energy level in the XPS, and A Fe is a peak area representing a Fe binding energy level in the XPS.
2 . The separator of claim 1 , wherein the carbon coating layer has a thickness of about 50 nm or less.
3 . The separator of claim 1 , wherein the carbon coating layer has a thickness of about 30 nm or less.
4 . The separator of claim 1 , wherein the thickness of the metal oxide film is in the range of about 5% to 10% of the thickness of the carbon coating layer.
5 . A fuel cell comprising the separator of claim 1 .
6 . A vehicle comprising the fuel cell of claim 5 .