Patent ID: 8211495

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a fuel cell separator plated at least in part with a noble metal, comprising the steps of: (a) forming titanium carbide on at least a portion of a surface of a titanium component of titanium or titanium alloy; and (b) subsequent to the step (a), carrying out noble metal plating of at least a portion of the titanium carbide; wherein the step (a) includes the steps of: (a1) preparing as the titanium component a titanium component coated on a surface with a carbon-containing substance, involving: preparing the titanium component coated with mutually differing amounts of the substance at mutually different locations included in at least the portion of the surface of the titanium component; forming titanium carbide with a first thickness at a first location included in at least the portion of the surface of the titanium component; and forming titanium carbide with a second thickness different from the first thickness at a second location included in at least the portion of the surface of the titanium component and different from the first location; and (a2) subjecting the titanium component to a first heat treatment at a prescribed first temperature within a range of between 450° C. and 550° C.