Carbon film has been deposited on 304 stainless steel (SS304) using close field unbalanced magnetron sputter ion plating (CFUBMSIP) to improve the corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity of SS304 acting as bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The corrosion resistance, interfacial contact resistance (ICR), surface morphology and contact angle with water of the bare and carbon-coated SS304 are investigated. The carbon-coated SS304 shows good corrosion resistance in the simulated cathode and anode PEMFC environment. The ICR between the carbon-coated SS304 and the carbon paper is 8.28-2.59 m Omega cm(2) under compaction forces between 75 and 360 N cm(-2). The contact angle of the carbon-coated SS304 with water is 88.6 degrees, which is beneficial to water management in the fuel cell stack. These results indicate that the carbon-coated SS304 exhibits high corrosion resistance, low ICR and hydrophobicity and is a promising candidate for bipolar plates. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.