Commissariat &#xc0; L'&#xc9;nergie Atomique Et Aux &#xc9;nergies Alternatives

Hexcel Reinforcements

Joël Pauchet

Arnaud Morin

Yohann Thomas

Maxime Schroder

Jean-Philippe Poirot-Crouvezier

Jean-Marc Beraud

Rémi Vincent

Marie Heitzmann

Julien Tard

Lionel Picard

Ludovic Rouillon

Anass Benayad

Jenny Jonquille

Jean-Marc Senecot

Frédéric Fouda-Onana

Guillaume Ozouf

A process for manufacturing a gas diffusion device includes providing a superposition of a composite layer and of an electrically conductive element, the composite layer including electrically conductive fibers and a polymerizable resin impregnating the conductive fibers, and the electrically conductive element having an open porosity between a first face and a second face. The process also includes compressing the superposition of the composite layer and of the conductive element so as to bring said conductive fibers into contact with the first face of the element, so as to make said resin flow into said element without the resin impregnating all the volume of said conductive element; and polymerizing the resin.

Method for producing a gas diffusion device having improved electrical properties

The present invention relates to a gas diffusion layer for a fuel cell, made of a carbon substrate grafted with at least one aromatic group having formula (II): wherein: the asterisk * designates a carbon atom with no hydrogen and no Rgroup, with i=1 to 5, and covalently bonded to the carbon substrate; at least two of the R, R, R, R, and Rgroups are different from a hydrogen atom; at least two of the R, R, R, R, and Rgroups are hydrophobic groups or hydrophilic groups or a hydrophobic group and a hydrophilic group.

Fuel cell gas diffusion layer made up of a carbon substrate grafted with an aromatic grouping

A method of treating a carbon substrate, includes the successive steps of impregnating the carbon substrate with an aqueous solution containing an amorphous fluorinated copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and of perfluoromethoxy dioxole, drying the carbon substrate at a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure, and obtaining a carbon substrate impregnated with a fluorinated copolymer. Such a carbon substrate may be used as a gas diffusion layer in a fuel cell.

Method of hydrophobic treatment of a carbon substrate

An active layer for a proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) including at least two perfluorosulfonate ionomers.

Formulation of an active layer having improved performances

A method for producing a diffusion layer of an electrochemical device, including: superimposition of multiple unidirectional webs of carbon filaments, filaments of each web positioned parallel with, and next to, one another; needle punching of the webs, breaking a proportion of the filaments such that broken portions of the filaments are tangled with other filaments of the webs; and cutting a proportion of the multiple unidirectional webs, the carbon filaments forming one electrically conducting outer surface of the diffusion layer. The needle punching is accomplished all the way through the multiple unidirectional webs, and/or through two principal opposite faces of the multiple unidirectional webs, and/or with an impact density against the multiple unidirectional webs of between approximately 100 and 300 impacts/cm.

Diffusion layer for an electrochemical device and method for producing such a diffusion layer

Growing community of inventors

Saint Martin d'Uriage, France

Joël Pauchet