Porous metal body, fuel battery, and method for producing porous metal body

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018261853-A1
Application number	US-201615758457-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 30, 2016
Priority date	Sep 10, 2015
Publication date	Sep 13, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

A porous metal body includes a three-dimensional mesh-like structure consisting of a skeleton, the porous metal body having a flat plate-like external form including a pair of main surfaces and end surfaces that connect the pair of main surfaces to each other, in which the skeleton includes a main metal layer consisting of nickel or a nickel alloy, and an oxide layer on a surface of the main metal layer, in which the oxide layer is not arranged on portions of the surface of the main metal layer included in the pair of main surfaces of the porous metal body.

First claim

1 . A porous metal body comprising:
a three-dimensional mesh-like structure consisting of a skeleton, the porous metal body having a flat plate-like external form including a pair of main surfaces and end surfaces that connect the pair of main surfaces to each other, wherein the skeleton includes: a main metal layer consisting of nickel or a nickel alloy; and an oxide layer on a surface of the main metal layer, wherein the oxide layer is not arranged on portions of the surface of the main metal layer included in the pair of main surfaces of the porous metal body.

2 . The porous metal body according to claim 1 ,
wherein the skeleton, includes a conductive layer arranged on a surface of the oxide layer.

3 . The porous metal body according to claim 2 , wherein the conductive layer contains a carbon powder and a binder.

4 . The porous metal body according to claim 2 , wherein the conductive layer contains silver.

5 . The porous metal body according to claim 1 , wherein the nickel alloy contains nickel and at least one of chromium, tin, and tungsten.

6 . The porous metal body according to claim 1 , wherein the oxide layer is composed of nickel oxide.

7 . A fuel battery comprising the porous metal body according to claim 1 , the porous metal body serving as a gas diffusion layer.

8 . A method for producing a porous metal body according to claim 1 , comprising:
a provision step of providing a porous body having a three-dimensional mesh-like structure consisting of a skeleton, the porous body having a flat plate-like external form including a pair of main surfaces and end surfaces that connect the pair of main surfaces to each other, the skeleton including a main metal layer consisting of nickel or a nickel alloy; a heat-treatment step of forming an oxide layer on a surface of the main metal layer by heating the porous body in an oxidizing atmosphere; and a removal step of removing portions of the oxide layer formed on the surface of the main metal layer included in the pair of main surfaces.

9 . The method for producing a porous metal body according to claim 8 , further comprising:
after the provision step and before the heat-treatment step, an acid treatment step of immersing the porous body in an acid solution and drying the porous body.

10 . The method for producing a porous metal body according to claim 9 , wherein the acid solution is nitric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, or acetic acid.

11 . The method for producing a porous metal body according to claim 8 , further comprising:
after the heat-treatment step, a conductive layer formation step of forming a conductive layer on a surface of the oxide layer.

Assignees

• Sumitomo Electric Industries

Inventors

• Okuno Kazuki
• Higashino Takahiro
• Majima Masatoshi
• Awazu Tomoyuki

Classifications

• H01M4/8807

  Gas diffusion layers · CPC title

• H01M4/8657

  layered · CPC title

• H01M8/0232 Primary

  Metals or alloys · CPC title

• C23C8/80

  After-treatment · CPC title

• C22C19/058

  without Mo and W · CPC title