Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Utc Fuel Cells, LLC

Audi Ag

Utc Power Corporation

James A Leistra

Thomas D Jarvi

Michael L Perry

Ned Emidio Cipollini

Jared B Hertzberg

David A Condit

Timothy W Patterson

Sathya Motupally

Wayde R Schmidt

Gayatri Vyas Dadheech

Gerald W Fly

Sergei F Burlatsky

Balasubramanian Lakshmanan

Pinkhas A Rapaport

Hubert Gasteiger

Thomas Harry Madden

Han Liu

Tommy Skiba

Susan Yan

Annette Brenner

Wenbin Gu

Jingxin Zhang

Ronald L James

Brian A Litteer

Sonia Tulyani

Sumeet Bhargava

Hiroshi Chizawa

Chi H Paik

David Dobulis

Ping Yu

Aaron J Blowers

Tsutomu Aoki

A membrane electrode assembly includes an anode including a hydrogen oxidation catalyst; a cathode; a membrane disposed between the anode and the cathode; and a peroxide decomposition catalyst positioned in at least one position selected from the group consisting of a layer between the anode and the membrane and a layer between the cathode and the membrane wherein the peroxide decomposition catalyst has selectivity when exposed to hydrogen peroxide toward reactions which form benign products from the hydrogen peroxide. The peroxide decomposition catalyst can also be positioned within the membrane. Also disclosed is a power-generating fuel cell system including such a membrane electrode assembly, and a process for operating such a fuel cell system. The assembly components contain ionomer material which can be perfluorinated or non-perfluorinated, high temperature, hydrocarbon, and the like.

Membrane electrode assemblies with hydrogen peroxide decomposition catalyst

A system and method for breaking-in and humidifying membrane-electrode-assemblies (MEAs) in a fuel cell stack. The method includes performing voltage cycling and humidification of the MEAs in the stack, including one or more temperature steps wherein current density of the stack is cycled within a predetermined range for each of the one or more temperature steps. The method also includes maintaining a fuel cell stack voltage within a predetermined range, and maintaining anode and cathode reactant flows at an approximate set-point during the current density cycling of the one or more temperature steps to break-in and humidify the MEAs in the stack so that the stack is able to operate at a predetermined threshold for a fuel cell stack voltage output capability.

Fast MEA break-in and voltage recovery

Fuel-cell membrane-subgasket assemblies may include an electrolyte membrane and a coated subgasket overlying the electrolyte membrane around a perimeter of the electrolyte membrane so as to define an active area inside the perimeter. The coated subgasket may comprise a subgasket body formed from a subgasket material. At least one side of the coated subgasket includes a subgasket coating layer containing or formed from a coating material such as metals, ceramics, polymers, polymer composites, or other hard coatings. Fuel-cell assemblies may include gas diffusion media, a bipolar plate, and a fuel-cell membrane-subgasket assembly having a coated subgasket. Fuel-cell stacks may include clamping plates, unipolar endplates, and a plurality of individual fuel-cell assemblies, at least one of which includes a fuel-cell membrane-subgasket assembly having a coated subgasket.

Fuel-cell membrane-subgasket assemblies comprising coated subgaskets, and fuel-cell assemblies and fuel-cell stacks comprising the fuel-cell membrane subgasket assemblies

An MEA for a fuel cell that employs multiple catalyst layers to reduce the hydrogen and/or oxygen partial pressure at the membrane so as to reduce the fluoride release rate from the membrane and reduce membrane degradation. An anode side multi-layer catalyst configuration is positioned at the anode side of the MEA membrane. The anode side multi-layer catalyst configuration includes an anode side under layer positioned against the membrane and including a catalyst, an anode side middle layer positioned against the anode side under layer and not including a catalyst and an anode side catalyst layer positioned against the anode side middle layer and opposite to the anode side under layer and including a catalyst, where the amount of catalyst in the anode side catalyst layer is greater than the amount of catalyst in the anode side under layer.

Mitigation of membrane degradation by multilayer electrode

A method for making a membrane electrode assembly includes the steps of providing a membrane electrode assembly including an anode including a hydrogen oxidation catalyst; a cathode; a membrane disposed between the anode and the cathode; and depositing a peroxide decomposition catalyst in at least one position selected from the group consisting of the anode, the cathode, a layer between the anode and the membrane and a layer between the cathode and the membrane wherein the peroxide decomposition catalyst has selectivity when exposed to hydrogen peroxide toward reactions which form benign products from the hydrogen peroxide. The peroxide decomposition catalyst can also be positioned within the membrane. Also disclosed is a power-generating fuel cell system including such a membrane electrode assembly, and a process for operating such a fuel cell system.

Method for preparing membranes and membrane electrode assemblies with hydrogen peroxide decomposition catalyst

A membrane electrode assembly includes a membrane layer, a cathode or anode catalyst layer adjacent to a surface of the membrane layer, an anode or cathode catalyst layer adjacent to an other surface of the membrane layer, an adhesive layer adjacent to the other surface of the membrane layer, wherein the adhesive layer abuts a surface of the anode or cathode catalyst layer, and a subgasket layer having an edge portion, wherein the subgasket layer is adjacent to a surface of the adhesive layer, wherein the cathode catalyst layer and anode catalyst layer extend along a length of the membrane layer relative to the edge portion of the subgasket layer, wherein the cathode or anode catalyst layer extends a greater length along the length of the membrane layer than the anode or cathode catalyst layer relative to the edge portion of the subgasket layer.

Controlled electrode overlap architecture for improved MEA durability

A membrane electrode assembly includes an anode; a cathode; a membrane disposed between the anode and the cathode; and an extended catalyzed layer between the membrane and at least one electrode of the anode and the cathode. The extended catalyzed layer includes catalyst particles embedded in membrane material and preferably includes a first plurality of particles which are electrically connected to the at least one electrode. The extended catalyzed layer may further preferably have a second plurality of particles which are electrically disconnected from the at least one electrode.

Extended electrodes for PEM fuel cell applications

A decontamination procedure for a fuel cell power plant () includes operating the plant to produce electrical power for an operating period, and then terminating operation of the plant () for a decontamination period, and then, whenever optimal electrical production of a plant fuel cell () is reduced by at least 5% by contaminants adsorbed by fuel cell electrodes (), decontaminating the fuel cell () of the plant () during the decontamination period by oxidizing contaminants adsorbed by electrodes () of the fuel cell. Oxidizing the contaminants may be accomplished by various steps including exposing the electrodes () to flowing oxygen; to heated flowing oxygen; to a sequence of start-stop cycles; and, to varying controlled potentials.

Decontamination procedure for a fuel cell power plant

A membrane electrode assembly includes an anode including a hydrogen oxidation catalyst; a cathode; a membrane disposed between the anode and the cathode; and a peroxide decomposition catalyst positioned in at least one position selected from the group consisting of the anode, the cathode, a layer between the anode and the membrane and a layer between the cathode and the membrane wherein the peroxide decomposition catalyst has selectivity when exposed to hydrogen peroxide toward reactions which form benign products from the hydrogen peroxide. The peroxide decomposition catalyst can also be positioned within the membrane. Also disclosed is a power-generating fuel cell system including such a membrane electrode assembly, and a process for operating such a fuel cell system.

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Penfield, NY, United States of America

James A Leistra