Fuel cell

Details Fuel cell Fuel cell

1998-04-10

2000-07-04

Gorgos, Kathryn

Chemistry: electrical current producing apparatus, product, and

With pressure equalizing means for liquid immersion operation

429 38, 429 39, 429 41, 429233, 429245, H01M 202, H01M 214, H01M 486, H01M 466, H01M 468

Patent

active

060836385

ABSTRACT:
A current collector includes a thin porous substrate and a hydrophilic material, where the hydrophilic material is provided to holes of the thin porous substrate or surfaces of skeleton elements of the porous substrate so that hydrophilic areas formed by the hydrophilic material successively pass through the thin porous substrate between both surfaces of the thin porous substrate. In the current collector, water is let out through the hydrophilic areas and does not stay on an interface between an electrode and the current collector so that reaction gas is not hampered and is supplied, unlike a conventional current collector. When the current collector is applied to a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, water is supplied with reliability through the hydrophilic areas to a polymer electrolyte membrane so that the polymer electrolyte membrane is effectively humidified. The current collector applied to a cathode achieves a profound effect because reaction product water tends to stay around a cathode of any types of fuel cells. The current collector also includes gas flow paths which are surrounded by particles of a hydrophobic material and pass through the thin porous substrate between both surfaces of the thin porous substrate. As a result, gas permeability of the current collector is maintained with reliability.

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Chemical Abstract vol. 115, No. 24. Dec. 16, 1991. Furuya et al: "Porous electrodes and their uses." XP002072224.
Chemical Abstract vol. 116, No. 22. Jun. 1, 1992. Nishihara: "Solid polymer-electrolyte fuel cells." XP002072225.

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