Impact of AC Anodizing on SS304L Oxide Film and Its Effect on Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) Properties

The effect of AC anodizing on the formation of oxide film on stainless steel 304L (SS304L) surfaces and its influence on the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) were studied in this study. The SS304L specimens were prepared before being anodized for 30 minutes at various voltages (range from 10 V to 50 V) using an AC power supply at room temperature. The surface morphology is studied using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and 3D profilometer. A potentiostat is used to run linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and Tafel analysis for the HER characterization. The result recorded the highest thickness of 9273.45 nm at 40 V anodizing voltage and the lowest surface roughness of 837.16 nm recorded at 50 V. The linear sweep polarization test solution exhibited the lowest overpotential at 50 V, 398.3 mV and a Tafel slope of 196 mVdec-1. These findings provide insight on the possibility of AC anodizing for improving the surface characteristics of SS304L for use in energy conversion applications.