Proton conductor and fuel cell

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10756372-B2
Application number	US-201515519617-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 21, 2015
Priority date	Oct 23, 2014
Publication date	Aug 25, 2020
Grant date	Aug 25, 2020

Abstract

A first proton-donating layer (20a) is a layer having a proton-donative functional group on the surface, for example, a silicon oxide layer. A second proton-donating layer (20b) is also a layer having a proton-donative functional group on the surface, for example, a silicon oxide layer. Negative surface charges are formed on the main surface section of a first base (10a) and the main surface section of a second base (10b), and these negative charges increased the proton conductivity in an aqueous solution fed to a nano channel. Although, in the aqueous solution, proton migration through hopping between water molecules contributes to its diffusion, the negative charges formed on the main surfaces of the bases (10a, 10b) attract protons in the aqueous solution, and the conduction of protons is efficiently achieved in “high-speed transfer regions” formed in the vicinity of the proton-donating layers (20a, 20b).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A proton conductor, comprising:
a first base having a negative charge formed on a main surface; and a first proton-donating layer provided on the main surface of the first base;
a second base having a main surface facing the main surface of the first base, the second base having a negative charge which is formed on the main surface of the second base; and
a second proton-donating layer which provided on the main surface of the second base,
wherein a thickness of the first proton-donating layer is 20 nm or less, a thickness of the second proton-donating layer is 20 nm or less, and a distance d between the main surface of the first base and the main surface of the second base is 50 nm or more and 800 nm or less;
wherein a channel for a protonic solvent is served by the space between the first base and second base.

2. The proton conductor according to claim 1 , wherein the first proton-donating layer is a layer having a proton-donative functional group on a surface.

3. The proton conductor according to claim 2 , wherein the proton-donative functional group is any one of a silanol group, a phosphate group, a titano group, and a sulfone group.

4. The proton conductor according to claim 1 , wherein the first proton-donating layer is a silicon oxide layer.

5. The proton conductor according to claim 1 , wherein the second proton-donating layer is a layer having a proton-donative functional group on a surface.

6. The proton conductor according to claim 5 , wherein the proton-donative functional group is any one of a silanol group, a phosphate group, a titanol group, and a sulfone group.

7. The proton conductor according to claim 1 , wherein the second proton-donating layer is a silicon oxide layer.

8. The proton conductor according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the main surface sections of the first base and the second base comprises an electrode surface or a ferroelectric crystal.

9. The proton conductor according to claim 1 , wherein each of the main surface sections of the first base and the second base comprises a ferroelectric crystal.

10. The proton conductor according to claim 8 , wherein the ferroelectric crystal is lithium niobate.

11. The proton conductor according to claim 1 , comprising two side walls perpendicular to the main surface of the first base and the main surface of the second base in such a way that an aspect ratio defined as R=L/d is 6 or less, wherein L is a distance between the two side walls.

12. The proton conductor according to claim 11 , wherein each of the two side walls includes a proton-donating layer on a surface thereof.

13. A fuel cell, comprising the proton conductor according to claim 1 as an aqueous solution channel.

14. The proton conductor according to claim 9 , wherein the ferroelectric crystal is lithium niobate.

Assignees

• Japan Science & Tech Agency

Inventors

• Kazoe Yutaka
• Pihosh Yuriy
• Mawatari Kazuma
• Kitamori Takehiko
• Kitamura Kenji
• Nagata Takahiro
• Tabata Osamu
• Tsuchiya Toshiyuki

Classifications

• H01M8/0293

  Matrices for immobilising electrolyte solutions · CPC title

• Y02E60/50

  Fuel cells · CPC title

• H01M8/08 Primary

  Fuel cells with aqueous electrolytes · CPC title

• H01M4/9016

  Oxides, hydroxides or oxygenated metallic salts · CPC title