Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.

Other

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

Toshiya Sugimoto

Shigeki Nomura

Osamu Nishikawa

Minoru Suezaki

Itaru Honma

Masanori Nakamura

Dietmar Seyferth

Kenji Yamauchi

Toshihito Miyama

Kouji Maruyama

Pawel Czubarow

Tokushige Shitiri

The present invention provides relates to a crosslinkable, proton-conducting membrane having a crosslinked structure, excellent in heat resistance, durability, dimensional stability and fuel barrier characteristics, and showing excellent proton conductivity at high temperature, characterized by comprising (a) an organic/inorganic hybrid structure (A) covalently bonded to 2 or more silicon-oxygen crosslinks and, at the same time, having a carbon atom, and (b) an acid containing structure (B) having an acid group, covalently bonded to a silicon-oxygen crosslink and having an acidic group; and provides a fuel cell using the same membrane. The present invention also provides a method for producing the proton-conducting membrane, comprising steps of preparing a mixture containing an organic/inorganic hybrid, crosslinkable compound (C) and compound (D), the former having 2 or more crosslinkable silyl groups and carbon atoms each being bonded to the silyl group via the covalent bond and the latter having a crosslinkable silyl group and acid group, as the first step; forming the above mixture into a film as the second step; and hydrolyzing/condensing or only condensing the hydrolyzable silyl group contained in the mixture formed into the film to form a crosslinked structure as the third step.

Proton conducting membrane, process for its production, and fuel cells made by using the same

A proton-conducting membrane, excellent in resistance to heat, durability, dimensional stability and fuel barrier characteristics, and showing excellent proton conductivity at high temperature and a method for producing the same. A proton-conducting membrane includes a carbon-containing compound and inorganic acid, characterized by a phase-separated structure containing a carbon-containing phase containing at least 80% by volume of the carbon-containing compound and inorganic phase containing at least 80% by volume of the inorganic acid, the inorganic phase forming the continuous ion-conducting paths. The method for producing the above proton-conducting membrane includes steps of preparing a mixture of a carbon-containing compound (D) having one or more hydrolyzable silyl groups and inorganic acid (C), forming the above mixture into a film, and hydrolyzing/condensing the hydrolyzable silyl group contained in the mixture formed into the film, to form a three-dimensionally crosslinked silicon-oxygen structure (A). The above proton-conducting membrane is incorporated in a fuel cell.

Proton-conducting membrane, method for producing the same, and fuel cell using the same

A process is provided that involves reductive coupling of polysilane precursors to form polysilane in the presence of ultrasonification. The resulting precursors, upon pyrolysis, lead to improved SiC ceramic product. Ultrasonification can be used to produce oligosilanes from precursors thereof, or polysilanes from monomers, dimers, trimers, or oligomers. Precursors can include Si:C in a ratio of about 1:1, and the invention allows formation of SiC having a Si:C ratio of about 1:1.

Sonichemical synthesis of silicon carbide precursors and methods for

An electrically conductive composition of the invention comprises 100 parts by weight of a (meth)acrylate compound possessing at least two (meth)acryloyl groups, 1 to 100 parts by weight of an anilinic electrically conductive polymer, and 0.1 to 20 parts by weight of a photopolymerization initiator sensitized by active rays. This electrically conductive composition may also comprise an unsaturated compound possessing any one group selected from the group consisting of a phosphoric acid group, a sulfonic acid group and a carboxyl group. Between the surface of a form to be coated and the coating layer made of the electrically conductive composition formed thereon, an inorganic electrically conductive layer composed of the tin oxide powder containing antimony with mean particle size of 0.01 to 0.4 .mu.m, or the barium sulfate powder coated with tin oxide containing antimony with mean particle size of 0.01 to 2 .mu.m, and a synthetic resin may be provided.

Electrically conductive composition

Photo-setting conductive coating composition

Growing community of inventors

Tsukuba, Japan

Toshiya Sugimoto