Fuel cell with integrated water management layer and fabrication method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10193171-B2
Application number	US-201615241251-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 19, 2016
Priority date	Aug 19, 2015
Publication date	Jan 29, 2019
Grant date	Jan 29, 2019

Abstract

Fabrication method of a fuel cell comprising the following successive steps:
providing a substrate comprising:
at least one membrane-electrode assembly, formed by an electrolytic membrane arranged between a first electrode and a second electrode, a first current collector arranged on the first electrode,
depositing a fluoropolymer solution on the first current collector, making the solvent of the solution evaporate so as to form a porous thin layer of fluoropolymer.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. Fabrication method of a fuel cell comprising the following successive steps:
providing a substrate comprising:
at least one membrane-electrode assembly, formed by an electrolytic membrane arranged between a first electrode and a second electrode,
a first current collector arranged on the first electrode,

depositing a fluoropolymer solution on the first current collector,
making a solvent of the fluoropolymer solution evaporate so as to form a porous thin layer of fluoropolymer.

2. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the fluoropolymer is chosen from polytetrafluoroethylene, fluorinated ethylene propylene, ethylene tetrafluoroethylene and perfluoroalkoxy.

3. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the fluoropolymer solution is deposited by screen-printing, by inkjet or by spraying.

4. Method according to claim 1 , wherein deposition of the fluoropolymer solution is performed at a temperature of less than 130° C.

5. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the fluoropolymer solution has a mass concentration of fluoropolymer comprised between 10% and 60%, or between 20% and 40%.

6. Method according to claim 1 , wherein hydrophilic charges are added to the fluoropolymer solution.

7. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the porous thin layer of fluoropolymer has pores presenting dimensions ranging from 100 nm to 1 μm.

8. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the porous thin layer of fluoropolymer is formed by fluoropolymer particles having a diameter ranging from 150 nm to 350 nm.

9. Method according to claim 8 , wherein the fluoropolymer particles are bonded to one another by fluoropolymer wires having a length ranging from 1 μm to 10 μm.

10. Method according to claim 9 , wherein the fluoropolymer wires present a diameter of less than 100 nm.

11. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the first current collector comprises at least one porous area.

12. Method according to claim 1 , wherein several thin layers of fluoropolymer are formed on the first current collector.

13. Method according to claim 1 , wherein the first electrode is a cathode and wherein the fuel cell is a proton exchange membrane fuel cell.

Assignees

• Commissariat Energie Atomique

Inventors

• Coz Erwan
• Thery Jessica
• Faucheux Vincent
• Capron Philippe

Classifications

• H01M4/8878

  Treatment steps after deposition of the catalytic active composition or after shaping of the electrode being free-standing body · CPC title

• H01M4/8605

  Porous electrodes · CPC title

• H01M8/1004

  characterised by membrane-electrode assemblies [MEA] (H01M8/12 takes precedence) · CPC title

• Y02P70/56

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• H01M2008/1095

  Fuel cells with polymeric electrolytes · CPC title