Patent ID: 7972449

Claim:
A method of producing a metal composite for use in an electrochemical device comprising: providing a stainless steel component wherein the stainless steel is type 304 or type 316; having a plurality of channels formed in said stainless steel component; providing a metal alloy comprising 43 wt. percent Ni, less than 5 wt. percent Co, 28-31.5 wt. percent Cr, 4-6 wt. percent Mo, 1.5-4.0 wt. percent W, 13-17 wt. percent Fe.; placing said stainless steel component and said metal alloy in an inert gas or a nitrogen gas containing atmosphere; and depositing said metal alloy on an exterior surface of said stainless steel component to form a nitrided alloy exterior layer by sputtering, ion plating, ion implanting, chemical vapor deposition, plasma assisted metal deposition, or thermal spray coating, wherein the metal alloy comprises nitrogen or the depositing is conducted in a nitrogen atmosphere, and wherein the nitrided alloy exterior layer has a lower electrical contact resistance and a greater corrosion resistance than the stainless steel component.