Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Nippon Soken, Inc.

Junji Nakanishi

Hiroo Yoshikawa

Kenji Tsubosaka

Tsunemasa Nishida

Nobuaki Mizutani

Akito Kawasumi

Masato Hamano

Takeaki Saito

Takeaki Saitou

Naoki Hasegawa

Hitoshi Hamada

Keiichi Kaneko

Nobuyuki Orihashi

Tsutomu Ochi

Hiroshi Fujitani

Katsuhide Kikuchi

Koro Fujio

Takashi Asano

Tomoo Yoshizumi

Mikihiro Hori

Kyoko Tsusaka

Makoto Ichikawa

Kazuhiro Hirabayashi

Shinji Matsuo

Tadashi Kawamoto

Yuta Ikehata

Shuto Mochizuki

Toru Morita

Yuichi Gomi

Rira Hirasawa

Yoshikazu Watanabe

Shigeki Osuka

Kenichi Tokuda

Takahiro Nitta

A method for producing a catalyst ink for fuel cells, wherein the method comprises obtaining the catalyst ink; wherein the catalyst ink comprises a catalyst, a carbon support, an ionomer, a solvent and a cation additive; wherein the catalyst is supported on the carbon support; wherein the carbon support is carbon support particles; wherein a particle size D90 of the carbon support particles in the catalyst ink is less than 3 μm; wherein, when a catalyst layer is formed by applying the catalyst ink to a substrate, a peel strength of the catalyst layer from the substrate is less than 3 N/m; and wherein a weight per unit area of the cation additive in the catalyst ink applied to the substrate, is 2.1 μg/cmor more and 3.3 μg/cmor less.

Method for producing catalyst ink

A membrane electrode assembly for the fuel cell includes a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, an anode catalyst layer assembled to one surface of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, and a cathode catalyst layer assembled to another surface of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane. The membrane electrode assembly contains cerium ions. The membrane electrode assembly includes a power-generation region and a non-power-generation region. The power-generation region includes the catalyst layers on both surfaces of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane in a center portion. The non-power-generation region is without the catalyst layer on at least one surface of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane in an outer periphery portion. A cerium ion content per area in the power-generation region is larger than a cerium ion content per area in the non-power-generation region.

Membrane electrode assembly and solid polymer fuel cell

A controller of a fuel cell system detects catalytic layer deterioration and drainage malfunction by the following inspection process. The controller may: execute drainage of water from a fuel cell, and acquire first/second output voltages of the fuel cell when an output current density of the fuel cell is a first reference current density A/A(A&#x3e;A). When the first output voltage is lower than a first threshold voltage and the second output voltage is higher than a second threshold voltage, the controller may output a first determination signal indicating that the catalytic layer is deteriorated and the drainage is executed without malfunction. When the first output voltage is higher than the first threshold voltage and the second output voltage is lower than the second threshold voltage, the controller may output a second determination signal indicating that the catalytic layer is not deteriorated and the drainage is executed with malfunction.

Fuel cell system

A membrane electrode gas diffusion layer assembly for a fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly including an electrolyte membrane, an anode catalyst layer, and a cathode catalyst layer, an anode diffusion layer joined to the anode catalyst layer of the membrane electrode assembly, and a cathode diffusion layer joined to the cathode catalyst layer of the membrane electrode assembly, in which at least one of the anode diffusion layer and the cathode diffusion layer includes a microporous layer that makes contact with the membrane electrode assembly, the microporous layer contains a cerium compound, and at least one of the electrolyte membrane, the anode catalyst layer, and the cathode catalyst layer comprises cerium ions.

Membrane electrode gas diffusion layer assembly and manufacturing method thereof

A water-repellent layer for fuel cell contains a water-repellent material and a hydrogen peroxide decomposition catalyst. A mass ratio of the hydrogen peroxide decomposition catalyst to the water-repellent material is between 5 mass percent and 20 mass percent, inclusive.

Water-repellent layer and fuel cell

There is provided a method of manufacturing a membrane electrode assembly that has an electrode catalyst layer formed on a surface of an electrolyte membrane. The electrode catalyst layer formed in the membrane electrode assembly is produced by a drying process that dries a catalyst ink which includes catalyst-supported particles having a catalyst metal supported thereon, a solvent and an ionomer, at a predetermined temperature. The catalyst ink includes a plurality of different solvents having different boiling points. The predetermined temperature is set to be lower than the boiling point of the solvent having the lowest boiling point among the plurality of different solvents.

Method of manufacturing membrane electrode assembly, and membrane electrode assembly

The fuel cell catalyst layer has: a catalyst including a carbon support having pores with a pore diameter of from 1 nm to 5 nm and a catalyst metal supported within the pores of the carbon support; and an ionomer having a glass transition temperature equal to or greater than 160&#xb0; C.

Fuel cell catalyst layer, and fuel cell

The method of manufacturing a membrane electrode assembly that has an electrode catalyst layer formed on a surface of an electrolyte membrane comprises (a) producing an electrode catalyst layer by drying a catalyst ink that includes catalyst-supported particles having a catalyst metal supported thereon, a solvent and an ionomer; and (b) selecting a produced electrode catalyst layer that contains an amount of sulfate ion equal to or less than a specified reference value, and manufacturing the membrane electrode assembly by using the selected electrode catalyst layer.

Method of manufacturing membrane electrode assembly

There is provided a technique of preventing degradation of an electrolyte membrane included in a fuel cell. A fuel cell includes a membrane electrode assembly. The membrane electrode assembly is provided as a power generation device where electrodes are arranged on both sides of an electrolyte membrane having proton conductivity. Each of the electrodes has a layered structure of stacking a catalyst layer arranged to support a catalyst and a gas diffusion layer arranged to spread a reactive gas over the entire electrode plane. The outer peripheral edge of the gas diffusion layer is located inward of the outer peripheral edge of the catalyst layer.

Membrane electrode assembly, fuel cell using the same and manufacturing method of membrane electrode assembly

A membrane electrode assembly for use in a fuel cell battery includes: an electrolyte membrane; an anode catalyst layer formed on a first surface of the electrolyte membrane; a cathode catalyst layer formed on a second surface of the electrolyte membrane; an anode gas diffusion layer stacked on the anode catalyst layer; and a cathode gas diffusion layer stacked on the cathode catalyst layer. The anode catalyst layer, the cathode catalyst layer, the anode gas diffusion layer, and the cathode gas diffusion layer have the same thermal insulation performance per thickness. The membrane electrode assembly satisfies all relations of T1+T3&#x3c;T2+T4, T1&#x3c;T2, and T3&#x3e;T4 where thicknesses of the anode catalyst layer, the cathode catalyst layer, the anode gas diffusion layer, and the cathode gas diffusion layer in a stacking direction are defined as T1, T2, T3, and T4, respectively.

Membrane electrode assembly and fuel cell battery

A method of manufacturing a fuel cell. An insulating member has a plurality of communication holes disposed on a side of a gas diffusion layer, which is formed by stacking a layer made of a carbon fiber and a water-repellent layer, where the water-repellent layer is provided. The gas diffusion layer and the insulating member are sandwiched by a pair of electrodes, and a pair of contact pressure plates are disposed on respective rear surfaces of the pair of electrodes so as to sandwich the pair of electrodes so that the gas diffusion layer is pressurized by the pair of contact pressure plates. When a voltage is applied to the pair of electrodes while maintaining the pressurized state, the protrusion portion of the carbon fiber is burned and removed by Joule heat.

Manufacturing method and manufacturing apparatus for gas diffusion layer of fuel cell, and fuel cell

A fuel cell includes an electrolyte membrane, a first electrode, a second electrode and a stress suppressing structure. The first electrode is joined to one surface of the electrolyte membrane. The second electrode is joined to an other surface of the electrolyte membrane. The first peripheral section which is at least part of periphery of the first electrode is located on an inner side along a planar direction of the first electrode than respective peripheries of the electrolyte membrane and the second electrode. The stress suppressing structure is configured to suppress concentration of stress on a location along the first peripheral section in the electrolyte membrane.

Fuel cell

The membrane electrode assemblyhas an electrolyte layer, a catalyst layer, and a memberimpregnated with electrolyte which is arranged between the electrolyte layerand the catalyst layer. At least part of the peripheral edge portion of the memberextends the outside the peripheral edge portions of the electrolyte layer and the catalyst layer. With this kind of constitution, it is possible to easily separate the electrolyte layeror the catalyst layerfrom the memberfrom the extended portion of the member. Consequently, it is possible to easily replace the electrolyte layerand the catalyst layer

Membrane electrode assembly, manufacturing method thereof, and fuel cells

A fuel cell includes a separator and a power generating body. The separator and power generating body are laminated each other. The power generating body is equipped at least with an electrolyte membrane. The fuel cell comprises: a sealing part that seals reaction gas supplied for electrochemical reactions at the fuel cell between the power generating body and the separator at an outer circumference part of the fuel cell, wherein a convex part and a recess are fit together in the sealing part. The convex part is formed projecting in the lamination direction on one of the power generating body and the separator, and the recess is formed recessed in the lamination direction on the other of the power generating body and the separator. At least one of the convex part and the recess is formed with a polymer material that expands with moisture absorption.

Fuel cell, and method of manufacturing a fuel cell

A fuel cell system includes a fuel cell, anode gas pressure adjusting means that adjusts the pressure of an anode gas supplied to the fuel cell, and cathode gas pressure adjusting means that adjusts the pressure of a cathode gas supplied to the fuel cell. The system further includes pressure control means that sets the pressure of the anode gas that is supplied when starting the fuel cell higher than the pressure of the anode gas that is supplied during power generation in the fuel cell, and controls the anode gas pressure adjusting means and the cathode gas pressure adjusting means so that a cathode gas pressure increase is started in accordance with the start of an anode gas pressure increase when the pressure of the anode gas is increased to the set pressure.

Growing community of inventors

Kasugai, Japan

Junji Nakanishi