Solid oxide fuel cell manufacturing method and dispenser apparatus for manufacturing same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016133980-A1
Application number	US-201514937183-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 10, 2015
Priority date	Nov 12, 2014
Publication date	May 12, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

To provide a method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell, capable of obtaining a uniform film thickness. The present invention is a method of manufacturing fuel cells ( 16 ), including a support body-forming step (S 1 ) for forming a porous support body ( 97 ), a film deposition step for laminating functional layers constituting electricity generating elements on a support body; and a sintering step (S 14 , S 16 ) for sintering the support body on which functional layers are formed; whereby the film deposition step includes surface deposition steps (S 5 , S 11 ), in which a masking layer is formed in parts not requiring film deposition, and electricity generating elements first functional layers are simultaneously formed, and a dot deposition step (S 15 ), in which slurry dots are formed by placing a slurry into a liquid droplet state and jetting it, and a second functional layer is formed by the agglomeration of these dots.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell in which multiple electricity generating elements are formed on a porous support body and the electricity generating elements are connected by an interconnector, the method comprising steps of:
a support body-forming step for forming the porous support body; a film deposition step for laminating and forming, in a predetermined sequence, a fuel electrode layer, an electrolyte layer, and an air electrode layer, being functional layers constituting the multiple electricity generating elements, onto the porous support body; and a sintering step for heating and sintering the porous support body on which the functional layers are formed by the film deposition step; wherein the film deposition step includes: a surface deposition step in which masking layers are formed on parts not requiring the film deposition, and slurry for forming first functional layers of the functional layers is brought into contact from over the masking layers in order to simultaneously form the first functional layers of the multiple electricity generating elements in parts with no masking layers, and; a dot deposition step for forming slurry dots by turning slurry for forming second functional layers among the functional layers into liquid droplet form and continuously jetting the dots onto the area in which the second functional layers are to be formed, thereby forming the second functional layers by the agglomeration of the dots.

2 . The method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell of claim 1 , wherein one kind of the functional layers formed adjacent to the porous support body is formed by the surface deposition step, and the other kind of the functional layers formed by the dot deposition step is formed adjacent to the functional layer formed by the surface deposition step.

3 . The method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell of claim 2 , further comprising a first interconnector-forming step in which slurry dots are formed by making slurry into liquid droplet form and continuously jetting the slurry to form the interconnector so as to be connected to the functional layer formed adjacent to the porous support body, thus forming a first interconnector layer by the agglomeration of the dots.

4 . The method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell of claim 3 , wherein the electrolyte layer is formed by the surface deposition step, adjacent to the functional layer formed adjacent to the porous support body.

5 . The method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell of claim 4 , further comprising a second interconnector forming step wherein, following the surface deposition step for forming the electrolyte layer, a second interconnector layer, connected to the first interconnector layer formed in the first interconnector-forming step, is formed by agglomeration of the dots.

6 . The method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell of claim 5 , further comprising a provisional sintering step for heating and curing the electrolyte layer, wherein the provisional sintering step is performed following the surface deposition step for forming the electrolyte layer, and prior to the second interconnector-forming step.

7 . The method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell of claim 3 , wherein the surface deposition step is carried out as a fuel electrode-forming step for simultaneously forming the multiple fuel electrode layers by causing slurry used to form the fuel electrode layer to adhere to the porous support body, and the porous support body is formed of an insulating material, with the multiple fuel electrode layers insulated from one another;
wherein the first interconnector-forming step forms the interconnector so that it is connected to the fuel electrode layer; and further comprising an electrolyte layer-forming step for forming the electrolyte layers of the multiple electricity generating elements on the fuel electrode layers; wherein the dot deposition step is performed as an air electrode forming step for forming the air electrode layers in the multiple electricity generating elements by turning slurry used to form the air electrode layer into liquid droplet form, and continuously jetting it onto the electrolyte layer.

8 . The method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell of claim 7 , wherein the fuel electrode layer comprises a bottom fuel electrode layer formed on the porous support body, and a top fuel electrode layer formed on the bottom fuel electrode layer, and the viscosity of slurry used to form the bottom fuel electrode layer is higher than the viscosity of slurry used to form the top fuel electrode layer; and
the bottom fuel electrode layer is formed of a material with higher conductivity than the top fuel electrode layer, and the top fuel electrode layer is formed of a material with higher catalytic activity than the bottom fuel electrode layer.

9 . The method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell of claim 8 , wherein the air electrode layer comprises a bottom air electrode layer formed on the electrolyte layer, and a top air electrode layer formed on the bottom air electrode layer; and the viscosity of slurry used to form the bottom air electrode layer is lower than the viscosity of the slurry used to form the top air electrode layer; and
wherein the bottom air electrode layer is formed of a material with higher catalytic activity than the top air electrode layer, and the top air electrode layer is formed of a material with higher conductivity than the bottom air electrode layer.

10 . The method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell of claim 1 , wherein forming of the masking layer in the surface deposition step is performed by a first mask-forming step for forming a first masking layer by causing a mask-forming agent to adhere to the electrically insulating porous support body on parts where no film deposition is required;
the surface deposition step simultaneously forms the functional layers for the multiple electricity generating elements in parts where there is no first masking layer, by bringing the slurry used to form the first functional layer of the functional layers into contact with the porous support body on which the first masking layer is formed, from over the first masking layer; the mask-forming agent adhered to the porous support body penetrates into the porous support body, and the formed masking layer has water repellent properties or oil repellent properties to repel slurry brought into contact therewith in the surface deposition step.

11 . The method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell of claim 10 , wherein, in the first masking-forming step, the mask-forming agent is applied only to predetermined positions where the first masking layer is to be formed by using a dispenser apparatus.

12 . The method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell of claim 11 , further comprising a first provisional sintering step for heating and curing the first functional layer formed in the surface deposition step, wherein the mask-forming agent is selected so that the first masking layer disappears in the first provisional sintering step.

13 . The method of manufacturing a solid oxide fuel cell of claim 12 , wherein, the first mask-forming step is executed as a liquid application step for applying a liquid substance using the dispenser apparatus comprising a rotating roller and a nozzle linked to the rotating roller; and
wherein in the liquid application step, the dispenser apparatus continuously extrudes the liquid substance in a rod shape from a tip of the nozzle while keeping an approximately constant distance between the tip and the surface to which the

Assignees

• Toto Ltd

Inventors

• FURUYA Seiki
• Ando Shigeru
• Momiyama Yutaka
• Hayama Kiyoshi
• Okamoto Osamu
• Watanabe Naoki
• Isaka Nobuo
• Sato Masaki
• Kakinuma Yasuo
• Tanaka Shuhei
• Murakami Hironobu
• Hoshiko Takuya
• Kubota Masaru
• Shinohara Shinji

Classifications

• H01M8/1286 Primary

  Fuel cells applied on a support, e.g. miniature fuel cells deposited on silica supports · CPC title

• H01M2008/1293

  Fuel cells with solid oxide electrolytes · CPC title

• B05C5/02

  {the liquid or other fluent material being discharged through an outlet orifice by pressure, e.g.} from an outlet device in contact or almost in contact, with the work · CPC title

• B05C11/00

  Component parts, details or accessories not specifically provided for in groups B05C1/00 - B05C9/00 (means for manipulating or holding work B05C13/00; enclosures for apparatus, booths B05C15/00; spray booths B05B16/00) · CPC title

• H01M2300/0071

  Oxides · CPC title