Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Audi Ag

Keiichi Kaneko

Naoki Takehiro

Makoto Adachi

Takumi Taniguchi

Tatsuya Arai

Noriyuki Kitao

Hiroko Kimura

Shinji Jomori

Hiroo Yoshikawa

Minhua Shao

Koji Sugiura

Michael Paul Humbert

Junji Nakanishi

Tomoki Nakashima

Yoshikatsu Fujimura

Tsugio Fujisawa

Norimitsu Takeuchi

Mayumi Yamada

Toru Morita

Tetsuya Tonosako

In the first step, the gas in the first tank body is supplied to a gas consuming device through a first gas supply pipe by bringing the first gas tank into the first state. In the second step, the first gas tank is brought from the first state to the second state after the gas amount in the first tank body is reduced to less than a predetermined reference a amount. In the step, the first gas tank is brought from the second state to the third state after the gas in the first gas supply pipe has been consumed by the gas consuming device and the pressure of the gas in the first gas supply pipe has been reduced to less than a predetermined reference pressure.

Method for disconnecting gas tank

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 present invention is to provide a catalyst for fuel cells, which is able to inhibit gas diffusion resistance and shows high IV characteristics far more than conventional fuel cell catalysts, and a method for producing the catalyst. Disclosed is a catalyst for fuel cells, comprising fine catalyst particles, each of which comprises a palladium-containing particle and an outermost layer containing platinum and covering the palladium-containing particle, and a carrier on which the fine catalyst particles are supported, wherein the catalyst for fuel cells satisfies 0.9&#xd7;S1&#x2264;S2 in which S1 is a BET specific surface area of a material for the carrier, and S2 is a BET specific surface area of the carrier in the catalyst for fuel cells.

Catalyst for fuel cells and method for producing the same

The present invention is to provide a method for producing core-shell catalyst particles with high catalytic activity per unit mass of platinum. Disclosed is a method for producing core-shell catalyst particles including a core containing palladium and a shell containing platinum and covering the shell, wherein the method includes: a step of depositing copper on the surface of the palladium-containing particles by applying a potential that is nobler than the oxidation-reduction potential of copper to the palladium-containing particles in a copper ion-containing electrolyte, and a step of forming the shell by, after the copper deposition step and inside the reaction system kept at &#x2212;3&#xb0; C. or more and 10&#xb0; C. or less, substituting the copper deposited on the surface of the palladium-containing particles with platinum by bringing the copper into contact with a platinum ion-containing solution in which platinum ions and a reaction inhibitor that inhibits a substitution reaction between the copper and the platinum, are contained.

Method for producing core-shell catalyst particles

Disclosed is a method for producing a fine catalyst particle comprising a palladium-containing particle and a platinum outermost layer covering the palladium-containing particle, wherein a first composite body containing palladium and platinum is formed by mixing the palladium-containing particle with a first solution in which a platinum compound is dissolved, and then covering at least part of a surface of the palladium-containing particle with platinum; wherein a second composite body containing palladium, platinum and copper is formed by mixing the first composite body with a second solution in which a copper compound is dissolved, and then covering at least part of a surface of the first composite body with copper using copper underpotential deposition; and wherein the copper in the second composite body is substituted with platinum derived from a third solution in which a platinum compound is dissolved.

Method for producing fine catalyst particle and fuel cell comprising fine catalyst particle produced by the production method

The present invention is to provide fine catalyst particles with better catalytic performance than ever before and a carbon-supported catalyst with better catalytic performance than ever before. Disclosed is a method for producing fine catalyst particles, comprising: a potential applying step of applying a potential to the fine palladium-containing particles in a first dispersion, until a peak indicating a Pd{111} surface in a reduction wave of a cyclic voltammogram becomes larger than a peak indicating a Pd{110} or Pd{100} surface in the reduction wave of the cyclic voltammogram; a copper covering step of covering at least part of the fine palladium-containing particle with copper by preparing a second dispersion by mixing the first dispersion and a copper-containing solution after the potential applying step, and applying a potential that is nobler than the oxidation-reduction potential of copper to the fine palladium-containing particles in the second dispersion; and a platinum covering step of covering at least part of the fine palladium-containing particle with platinum by mixing the second dispersion and a platinum-containing solution after the copper covering step.

Method for producing fine catalyst particles and method for producing carbon-supported catalyst

The present invention is to provide fine catalyst particles to which sulfate ions are less likely to be adsorbed, and a carbon-supported catalyst to which sulfate ions are less likely to be adsorbed. Disclosed is a method for producing fine catalyst particles comprising a fine palladium-containing particle and a platinum-containing outermost layer covering at least part of the fine palladium-containing particle, wherein the method comprises: a copper covering step of covering at least part of the fine palladium-containing particle with copper by preparing a second dispersion by mixing a first dispersion comprising fine palladium-containing particles being dispersed in an acid solution with a copper-containing solution, and applying a potential that is nobler than the oxidation reduction potential of copper to the fine palladium-containing particles in the second dispersion, and a platinum covering step of covering at least part of the fine palladium-containing particle with platinum by substituting the copper covering at least part of the fine palladium-containing particle with platinum by mixing the second dispersion and a platinum-containing solution after the copper covering step, with applying a constant potential that is in a range between a potential that is nobler than the oxidation reduction potential of copper and a potential that is less than the oxidation reduction potential of platinum, to the fine palladium-containing particles.

The present invention is to provide such a carbon-supported catalyst that an activity expected from a catalytic activity by rotating disk electrode (RDE) evaluation is maintained even after the formation of a membrane electrode assembly (MEA). Disclosed is a carbon-supported catalyst wherein the carbon-supported catalyst includes fine catalyst particles that have a palladium-containing particle and a platinum-containing outermost layer covering at least part of the palladium-containing particle, and a carbon support supporting the fine catalyst particles, and wherein, in a cyclic voltammogram that is obtained by measuring, in an acid solution, the carbon-supported catalyst applied to a measurement electrode made of an electroconductive material, the proportion of the area of a hydrogen adsorption region that appears in a reduction current region to the total area of the hydrogen adsorption region and a hydrogen occlusion region that appears in the reduction current region, is 29% to 36%.

Carbon-supported catalyst

A method of forming a catalyst material includes hindering the reaction rate of a displacement reaction and controlling the formation of platinum clusters, where an atomic layer of metal atoms is displaced with platinum atoms, to produce a catalyst material that includes an atomic layer of the platinum atoms.

Method of forming a catalyst with an atomic layer of platinum atoms

An object of the present invention is to provide a production method which can increase the activity of a catalyst particle comprising a core particle and an outermost layer, the core particle comprising at least one of palladium and a palladium alloy, and the outermost layer comprising at least one of platinum and a platinum alloy and covering the core particle. The method is for producing a catalyst for fuel cells, in which a catalyst particle is supported by an electroconductive carrier, the method comprising the steps of: preparing a supported catalyst in which a catalyst particle comprising a core particle and an outermost layer is supported by an electroconductive carrier, the core particle comprising at least one of palladium and a palladium alloy, and the outermost layer comprising at least one of platinum and a platinum alloy and covering the core particle; acid treatment to bring the supported catalyst into contact with an acid solution which dissolves palladium more preferentially than platinum; and firing the supported catalyst at 80&#xb0; C. or more and less than 200&#xb0; C. in a reducing gas atmosphere after the acid treatment step.

Method for producing a catalyst for fuel cells

A fuel cellincludes an MEA, an anode separatorand a cathode separator. The anode separatorforms alternate first and second flow channelsand. The first flow channelis blocked in the middle. The second flow channelis blocked in the both ends. The anode separatorforms alternate first and second flow channelsand. The first flow channelis blocked in the middle. The second flow channelis blocked in the both ends.

Fuel cell

The present invention provides a fuel cell capable of inhibiting desiccation and flooding of a membrane electrode assembly. The fuel cell has a laminated body having a membrane electrode assembly including an electrolyte membrane sandwiched by an anode catalyst layer and a cathode catalyst layer. A pair of separators sandwiches the laminated body, and between at least one separator and the laminated body, inlet and outlet passages are formed. The inlet passage is blocked at a downstream end of the reaction gas supplied to the laminated body and the outlet passage is blocked at an upstream end of the reaction gas having passed through the laminated body. The inlet passage and the outlet passage are arranged separately from each other. The depth of the upstream region of the inlet passage is larger than that of the downstream region of the inlet passage.

The present invention provides a fuel cell having obstructed passages, which is capable of inhibiting the occurrence of flooding. The fuel cell comprises: a stacked body comprising at least a membrane electrode assembly; and a pair of separators sandwiching the stacked body. A face of the stacked body side of the separator is provided with inlet passage(s) through which reaction gas to be supplied to the stacked body passes and outlet passage(s) through which reaction gas having passed the stacked body passes. The inlet passage is obstructed at a downstream end of the reaction gas to be supplied to the stacked body and the outlet passage is obstructed at an upstream end of the reaction gas having passed through the stacked body. The inlet passage and the outlet passage is arranged separately from each other, and the inlet passage is arranged on both ends of the face of the stacked body side of the separator in the passage width direction of the inlet passage and the outlet passage.

Growing community of inventors

Mishima, Japan

Keiichi Kaneko