| Pacific Rim Symposium on Surfaces, Coatings and Interfaces (PacSurf 2018) | |
| Energy Harvesting & Storage | Monday Sessions |
| Session EH-MoE |
| Session: | Process |
| Presenter: | Motonori Tamura, The University of Electro-Communications (UEC-Tokyo), Tokyo, Japan |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Cubic boron nitride (c-BN) has attracted much attention because of its outstanding physical and electrical properties. However, there are limited research data on hydrogen permeation of BN thin films that can be applied to
components of hydrogen fuel cells. Several techniques such as sputtering, laser ablation, ion-beam deposition, and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition are used to synthesize c-BN films. To realize a stable c-BN structure and film stoichiometry, precise control of the plasma parameters is necessary. In this study, a magnetically enhanced plasma-ion-plating system was successfully designed and applied to produce stable c-BN films.
Hydrogen-permeation tests of BN-, SiC-, and TiN-coated Type 316L stainless steels were performed. A diffusion-limited permeation regime was confirmed on the coated samples at 573-773 K. The permeability depended on the test temperature, where high values of permeability data were obtained at high temperature. The hydrogen permeability data of SUS316L stainless steel in the temperature range of 573-773 K correlated well with results of a previous study. Our results indicate that the 1.5-micrometers-thick films of SiC, TiN, and BN were all effective in reducing the hydrogen permeability. In comparison with TiN and SiC coatings, the c-BN (cubic boron nitride) coating was most effective to reduce the rate of hydrogen permeation through stainless steel.