Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Gayatri Vyas

Youssef Morcos Mikhail

Mahmoud H Abd Elhamid

Thomas A Trabold

Richard H Blunk

Michael K Budinski

Daniel John Lisi

Yang-Tse Cheng

Keith E Newman

Brian K Brady

Harald Schlag

Reena L Datta

Timothy J Fuller

Gerald W Fly

John Neal Owens

John J Moore

Feng Zhong

Gerhard Winter

Augusto O Kunrath Neto

Roy Gerald Gordon

Tao Xie

Thomas W Tighe

Hubert Gasteiger

Yang T Cheng

Scott Lawrence Peters

Michael J Lukitsch

Ralf Senner

Swathy Swathirajan

Jeffrey M Guzda

Michael K Lukitsch

Ilona Busenbender

Charles H Olk

Stephen William Gaarenstroom

Upendra Rao

Dawen Pang

One embodiment of the invention includes a process including providing an electrically conductive fuel cell component having a first face, and depositing a graphitic/conductive carbon film on the first face of the electrically conductive fuel cell component comprising sputtering a graphite target using a closed field unbalanced magnetron field.

Non-noble metal inexpensive conductive coatings for fuel cell bipolar plates

A product comprising a fuel cell component comprising a substrate and a coating overlying the substrate, the coating comprising nanoparticles having sizes ranging from 2 to 100 nanometers.

Fuel cell component with coating including nanoparticles

In at least one embodiment, the present invention provides a hydrophilic electrically conductive fluid distribution plate and a method of making, and system for using, the hydrophilic electrically conductive fluid distribution plate. In at least one embodiment, the plate comprises a plate body defining a set of fluid flow channels configured to distribute flow of a fluid across at least one side of the plate, and a composite conductive coating having a water contact angle of less than 40&#xb0; adhered to the plate body. In at least one embodiment, the composite coating comprises a polymeric conductive layer adhered to the plate body having an exterior surface, and a particulate carbon layer adhered to the exterior surface of the polymeric conductive layer.

Hydrophilic, electrically conductive fluid distribution plate for fuel cell

In at least one embodiment, the present invention provides an electrically conductive fluid distribution plate and a method of making, and system for using, the electrically conductive fluid distribution plate. In at least one embodiment, the plate comprises a plate body defining a set of fluid flow channels configured to distribute flow of a fluid across at least one side of the plate, and a polymeric porous conductive layer proximate the plate body, with the porous conductive layer having a porosity sufficient to result in a water contact angle of the surface of less than 40&#xb0;.

Porous, electrically conductive fluid distribution plate for fuel cells

A flow field plate or bipolar plate for a fuel cell that includes a carbide coating that makes the bipolar plate conductive, hydrophilic and stable in the fuel cell environment. Suitable carbides include, but are not limited to, chromium carbide, titanium carbide, tantalum carbide, niobium carbide and zirconium carbide. The carbide coating is then polished or textured by a suitable process, such as laser or chemical etching, to provide a surface morphology that makes the coating more hydrophilic, and further reduces the contact resistance on its surface.

Metallic bipolar plates with high electrochemical stability and improved water management

A fuel cell system that employs a surface active agent that reduces the surface tension of the water in the flow field channels. The fuel cell system includes humidifiers that humidify the cathode inlet airflow and the hydrogen anode gas. The surface active agent is mixed with the humidifying water in the humidifiers so that the surface active agent enters the flow field channels to reduce the surface tension of the water therein, thus allowing the water to wick the channels. In one non-limiting embodiment, the surface active agent is ethanol. Ruthenium can be added to the platinum in the catalyst layers of the fuel cells to mitigate the poisoning of platinum by carbon monoxide, which is one of the oxidation products of ethanol on the cathode side of the fuel cell.

Water management of PEM fuel cell stacks using surface active agents

A flow field plate or bipolar plate for a fuel cell that includes a conductive coating having formed nanopores that make the coating hydrophilic. Any suitable process can be used to form the nanopores in the coating. One process includes co-depositing a conductive material and a relatively unstable element on the plate, and then subsequently dissolving the element to remove it from the coating and create the nanopores. Another process includes using low energy ion beams for ion beam lithography to make the nanopores.

Super-hydrophilic nanoporous electrically conductive coatings for PEM fuel cells

A flow field plate or bipolar plate for a fuel cell that includes a combination of TiOand a conductive material that makes the bipolar plate conductive, hydrophilic and stable in the fuel cell environment. The TiOand the conductive material can be deposited on the plate as separate layers or can be combined as a single layer. Either the TiOlayer or the conductive layer can be deposited first. In one embodiment, the conductive material is gold.

[object Object]

A fuel cell that employs a decomposition catalyst on one or more of the membrane, bipolar plates or diffusion media layers in the fuel cell that decomposes hydrogen peroxide, and thus reduces the generation of hydroxyl free radicals. In one embodiment, the decomposition catalyst is ruthenium oxide and is deposited on the structure by various processes, such as chemical vapor deposition process.

Durability for the MEA and bipolar plates in PEM fuel cells using hydrogen peroxide decomposition catalysts

A fluid distribution element is provided for a fuel cell having a major surface facing a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) and one or more flow channels for transporting gas and liquid to and from the MEA. One or more regions of the major surface are overlaid with a super-hydrophilic corrosion-resistant layer comprising a fluoropolymer. Methods of making such a fluid distribution element are also provided.

Hydrophilic layer on flowfield for water management in PEM fuel cell

A process comprising: depositing a coating on a fuel cell bipolar plate using plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition.

Process for application of a hydrophilic coating to fuel cell bipolar plates

An electrically conductive fluid distribution element for use in a fuel cell having a conductive non-metallic porous media having a surface with an electrically conductive metal deposited along one or more metallized regions. The metallized regions are arranged to contact a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) in a fuel cell assembly, and thus improve electrical conductance at contact regions between the MEA and the fluid distribution media. Methods of making such a fluid distribution element and operating fuel cell assemblies are also provided.

Approach to make a high performance membrane electrode assembly (MEA) for a PEM fuel cell

A bi-polar plate is provided for a fuel cell stack. The bi-polar plate has improved surface wettability. The bi-polar plate includes a body including at least approximately ninety percent by weight of a metal and defining at least one flow channel. At least about 0.05 percent and up to 100 percent by weight of silicon is disposed on a surface of the at least one flow channel to form a high energy surface to form a high energy surface for the bi-polar plate. This can be achieved by adding from 0.5 to 10 weight % silicon to the steel. The percent of silicon is pre-determined based on a desired wettability of the high energy surface of the at least one flow channel.

Development of high energy surfaces on stainless steels for improved wettability

In at least one embodiment, the present invention provides an electrically conductive fluid distribution separator plate assembly, a method of making, and a system for using, the electrically conductive fluid distribution separator plate assembly. In at least one embodiment, the electrically conductive fluid distribution separator plate assembly comprises a metallic cathode plate having opposed surfaces and a first contact resistance, a polymeric composite anode plate adjacent to the metallic cathode plate, and a low contact resistance coating located on at least one of the surfaces of the plates, with the coating having a second contact resistance, less than the first contact resistance.

Hybrid electrically conductive fluid distribution separator plate assembly for fuel cells

A flow field plate for a fuel cell that has one or more outer layers that makes the plate more conductive and hydrophilic. In one embodiment, the coating is co-deposited as combination of a conductive material and a metal oxide coating. A suitable conductive material is gold and suitable metal oxides include SiO, HfO, ZrO, AlO, SnO, TaO, NbO, MoO, IrO, RuOand mixtures thereof. The conductive material and metal oxide can also be deposited as two separate layers, where the metal oxide is the outer layer. According to another embodiment, a metal layer is deposited on the plate with nanopores that provide the hydrophilicity. Also, doping ions can be added to the metal oxide to provide low fluoride solubility of the coating to control the rate that hydrofluoric acid etches away the oxide layer.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester Hills, MI, United States of America

Gayatri Vyas