Method of manufacturing an integrated water vapor transfer device and fuel cell

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10811713-B2
Application number	US-201815882275-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 29, 2018
Priority date	Jan 29, 2018
Publication date	Oct 20, 2020
Grant date	Oct 20, 2020

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method for manufacturing an integrated MEA, the method includes the following steps: (1) providing a substrate having an AA region and a WVT region; (2) coating a hydrophobic microporous layer across the substrate; (3) coating a catalyst layer onto the hydrophobic microporous layer in the AA region; (4) coating a first fuel cell membrane ionomer layer onto the catalyst layer in the AA region and onto the hydrophobic microporous layer in the WVT region; (5) optionally applying a membrane support layer to the first fuel cell membrane ionomer layer in the AA region and the WVT region; (6) optionally applying a coating of second fuel cell membrane ionomer layer thereby forming a coated substrate; and (7) assembling the coated substrate to a companion coated substrate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for manufacturing an integrated membrane electrode assembly (MEA), the method comprising:
providing a substrate having an active area (AA) portion and a water vapor transfer (WVT) portion;
coating a hydrophobic microporous layer (MPL) across the substrate;
stripe coating a catalyst layer onto the hydrophobic microporous layer in the AA portion and a mixed carbon/ionomer layer in the WVT portion;
coating a first fuel cell membrane ionomer layer onto the catalyst layer in the AA portion and onto the mixed carbon/ionomer layer in the WVT portion to form a coated substrate with an AA region and a WVT region;
heat treating the coated substrate; and
assembling the coated substrate to a companion coated substrate.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying a membrane support layer to the first fuel cell membrane ionomer layer.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising coating a second fuel cell membrane ionomer layer to the membrane support layer to thereby form the coated substrate.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the membrane support layer is formed from an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE).

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coated substrate is heat-treated before assembling the coated substrate to the companion coated substrate.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the AA region of the coated substrate includes at least the substrate, the hydrophobic MPL, the catalyst layer, and the first fuel cell membrane ionomer layer.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the WVT region of the coated substrate includes at least the substrate, the hydrophobic MPL, the mixed carbon/ionomer layer, and the first fuel cell membrane ionomer layer.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the WVT region is defined at a first end of the substrate.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the WVT region is defined at the first end of the substrate and at a second end of the substrate with the AA region disposed therebetween.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein coating the hydrophobic microporous layer across the substrate includes stripe coating the hydrophobic microporous layer in the AA portion, and wherein coating the first fuel cell membrane ionomer layer onto the catalyst layer includes stripe coating the first fuel cell membrane ionomer layer onto the catalyst layer in the AA portion.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising stripe coating a hydrophilic microporous layer onto the WVT portion.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising stripe coating a first WVT ionomer onto the mixed carbon/ionomer layer in the WVT portion.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the coated substrate is heat-treated before assembling the coated substrate to the companion coated substrate.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the AA region of the coated substrate includes at least the substrate, the hydrophobic MPL, the catalyst layer, and the first fuel cell membrane ionomer layer.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the WVT region of the coated substrate includes at least the substrate, the hydrophilic MPL, the mixed carbon/ionomer layer, and the first WVT ionomer.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the WVT region is defined at a first end of the substrate.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the WVT region is defined at the first end of the substrate and at a second end of the substrate with the AA region disposed therebetween.

18. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
attaching a first bipolar plate to a first side of the integrated MEA formed, at least in part, by assembling the coated substrate to the companion coated substrate; and
attaching a second bipolar plate to a second side of the integrated MEA opposite the first side.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the catalyst layer is stripe coated onto the hydrophobic MPL in only the AA region, and wherein the mixed carbon/ionomer layer is stripe coated onto the hydrophobic MPL in only in the WVT region.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the WVT region includes first and second discrete WVT portions sandwiching therebetween the AA region.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the substrate includes a gas diffusion media.

22. The method of claim 21 , wherein the gas diffusion media includes a non-woven carbon fiber paper or a woven carbon cloth.

23. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hydrophobic MPL is located directly against the substrate, the catalyst layer is located directly against the hydrophobic MPL, the mixed carbon/ionomer layer is located directly against the hydrophobic MPL, and the first fuel cell membrane ionomer layer is located directly against the catalyst layer and the mixed carbon/ionomer layer.

24. The method of claim 1 , wherein the companion coated substrate includes a second substrate coated with a second hydrophobic MPL and a second catalyst layer.

25. The method of claim 24 , wherein the second hydrophobic MPL is located directly against the second substrate, and the second catalyst layer is located directly against the second hydrophobic MPL.

Assignees

• Gm Global Tech Operations Llc

Inventors

• Mathias Mark F
• Lakshmanan Balasubramanian
• Kumaraguru Swaminatha P
• Moose Scott C

Classifications

• H10W74/01

  Manufacture or treatment · CPC title

• Y02E60/50

  Fuel cells · CPC title

• H01M8/0258 Primary

  characterised by the configuration of channels, e.g. by the flow field of the reactant or coolant · CPC title

• H01M8/04126

  Humidifying · CPC title

• H01M4/8807 Primary

  Gas diffusion layers · CPC title