Influencing the corrosion rates of titanium and titanium nitride surfaces by incorporation of iridium or ruthenium during femtosecond laser treatment

Abstract

Abstract Structuring by femtosecond laser process is a promising technique for improving the performance of porous transport layers (PTL) in proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis. As an increase in surface area and a raise of crevices always promotes corrosion, a method must be found to prevent a shortening of the component lifespan. In this paper a method of implanting additional elements from coatings into titanium, while simultaneously nitriding the surface by processing under nitrogen atmosphere is presented. Ruthenium and Iridium were chosen as materials because they are commonly used as catalyst and corrosion-inhibitor in PEM-cells. Especially ruthenium showed promising ability in decreasing corrosion rates while increasing surface conductivity at the same time. Specifically, in samples processed under nitrogen, the addition of ruthenium was able to decrease the impact of laser processing on corrosion rates by up to 46%.