JP2006156421A - Method of manufacturing fuel cell separator - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manufacture a fuel cell separator having enough gas impermeability by simple manufacturing method. <P>SOLUTION: The method of manufacturing the fuel cell separator includes steps: preparing a starting powder (step S100); making a slurry by homogeneously mixing the starting powder (step S110); granulating (step S120); putting the granulated starting powder into a metal mould (step S130); and heat press forming (step S140). A mixed combination of a phenol resin and an epoxy resin are used as a binder in the starting powder added to a carbon powder. No gas is generated therefor from the binder in the step of the heat press forming, so that the separator having enough gas impermeability can be manufactured. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell separator and a method for manufacturing a fuel cell separator. More specifically, in a fuel cell configured by stacking a plurality of single cells, the fuel gas is provided between adjacent single cells and between the electrodes. The present invention relates to a fuel cell separator that forms a flow path and an oxidizing gas flow path and separates the fuel gas from the oxidizing gas, and a method for manufacturing the same.

  Conventionally, as a method for producing this type of fuel cell separator, a method is known in which carbon powder is used as a raw material, a phenol resin is added to this as a binder, kneaded and molded, then fired, carbonized and graphitized ( For example, see Patent Document 1). When a separator is manufactured by such a method, a block-shaped carbon member is produced by the above-described firing step, and the carbon member is machined to cut out a plate-shaped member to produce a separator having a desired shape. To do. Alternatively, as another method for producing a separator, a method in which a mixture of a carbon resin and a phenol resin as a binder is subjected to hot press molding at a temperature at which the resin does not graphitize (see, for example, Patent Document 2). ). When manufacturing a separator by such a method, a separator having a desired shape can be manufactured by performing a heat press using a mold having a predetermined shape.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 8-222241 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-246568

  However, among the above-described two methods, the former manufacturing method includes a firing step in which heating is performed at a high temperature of 1000 to 3000 ° C. for a long time, and a step of machining the calcined carbon. As a result, the manufacturing process becomes complicated and the cost increases. Furthermore, since the phenol resin added as a binder to the carbon powder generates water in the firing step, bubbles are generated due to the generated water in the carbon member produced by firing, and the separator produced is Gas impermeability may be impaired. Therefore, in order to ensure the gas impermeability of the separator, it is necessary to perform a process for closing the bubbles generated in the carbon member, which further complicates the manufacturing process.

  On the other hand, since the latter manufacturing method does not include a firing step and a machining step, the manufacturing method can be simplified as compared with the former method. However, when the phenol resin, which is a thermosetting resin, is thermally cured in the above-described heating press step, the hydroxyl group of the phenol resin reacts to generate gas (water vapor), so that the inside of the manufactured separator There is a possibility that bubbles are generated in the separator and the gas impermeability of the separator becomes insufficient. Further, when a raw material containing carbon and a binder made of a thermosetting resin is subjected to hot press molding, the binder melted during the molding oozes out, and a binder layer is formed on the surface of the separator member. In addition, a mold release agent is applied to the mold used for press molding in order to improve the mold release property when the separator member is taken out from the mold, and at least a part of the mold release agent is taken out from the mold. It adheres to the surface of the separator member. There is a problem that such a binder layer and a release agent on the surface of the separator member do not have conductivity.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such problems and to produce a fuel cell separator having sufficient gas impermeability or conductivity by a simple production method. The manufacturing method has the following configuration.

The method for producing a fuel cell separator of the present invention comprises:
(A) A raw material containing carbon and a binder, the raw material containing an epoxy resin and a phenol resin as the binder, and heat-press-molded in a predetermined mold to form a separator member having a predetermined shape When,
And (b) producing a fuel cell separator from the separator member.

  According to the method for manufacturing a fuel cell separator of the present invention configured as described above, since a combination of a phenol resin and an epoxy resin is used as a binder, the binder is thermally cured by heating during molding. In addition, no gas is generated from the binder. Therefore, the separator member obtained by hot press molding does not swell, and a separator having sufficient gas impermeability can be manufactured.

  Here, as a raw material, it is good also as containing materials other than the said carbon and binder. For example, a hydrophilic substance can be further added as a raw material, and hydrophilicity can be imparted to the separator to be manufactured. Moreover, as a binder, it is good also as adding the hardening accelerator of an epoxy resin in addition to a phenol resin and an epoxy resin.

In the method for producing a fuel cell separator of the present invention,
When the epoxy resin in the binder and the phenol resin are thermally cured by causing a chemical reaction with heating, the amount of epoxy groups used for the chemical reaction in the epoxy resin, and in the phenol resin It is good also as a value of ratio with the quantity of the hydroxyl group provided to the said chemical reaction being set to 0.8-1.2.

In this case, the hydroxyl group of the phenol resin in the binder sufficiently reacts with the epoxy group (three-membered ring of the epoxy resin) of the epoxy resin, so that gas is generated from the phenol resin during heating. A sufficient suppressing effect can be obtained. Further, since the amount of the epoxy resin does not become excessive as compared with the amount of the phenol resin, the time required for the thermosetting of the binder is not excessively prolonged due to the increase of the amount of the epoxy resin.
In the fuel cell separator of the present invention,
The step (a) is a step of performing the hot press molding in a temperature range of 140 to 220 ° C.
The fuel cell separator may be a solid polymer fuel cell separator.

In the method for producing a fuel cell separator of the present invention,
The epoxy resin may be composed of at least a cresol novolac type epoxy resin, and the phenol resin may be composed of at least a novolac type phenol resin. By using a cresol novolac type as an epoxy resin, the heat resistance of the separator to be manufactured can be increased.

Furthermore, in the method for producing a fuel cell separator of the present invention,
A configuration in which the carbon is a powder made of scaly natural graphite particles having an average particle diameter of 5 to 50 μm is also suitable.

  The scaly natural graphite particles have a flaky shape, and themselves exhibit a predetermined binding property during press molding. Therefore, when a powder made of scaly natural graphite particles is used as carbon, the amount of binder added to the raw material can be reduced. Since the above-mentioned thermosetting resin used as the binder does not have conductivity, the conductivity of the separator can be improved by reducing the amount of the binder in this way. In addition, when the amount of binder added to the raw material exceeds a predetermined amount, there is a property that the strength of the separator to be manufactured decreases under a high temperature condition equal to or higher than the temperature corresponding to the operating temperature of the fuel cell. In addition, by suppressing the amount of binder added to the raw material, the strength of the separator can be sufficiently secured.

In the method for producing a fuel cell separator of the present invention,
The step (a)
(A-1) a step of uniformly mixing the carbon and the binder into a slurry;
(A-2) spray-drying the slurry and granulating to obtain a powder having an average particle size of 50 to 150 μm and a particle size distribution of 50 to 300 μm,
The obtained powder may be hot press-molded to form the separator member. By using such a method, the mixed state of carbon and the binder can be made sufficiently uniform in the manufactured separator.

Furthermore, in the method for producing a fuel cell separator of the present invention,
The step (b)
(B-1) Of the surfaces of the separator member formed in the step (a), when the separator obtained from the separator member is incorporated in a fuel cell, it corresponds to the surface that contacts the member adjacent to the separator A configuration including a step of polishing and removing the surface to be polished is also suitable.

By setting it as such a structure, the layer of the binder formed in the separator member surface and the mold release agent adhering to the separator member surface can be removed. That is, when a raw material containing carbon and a binder made of a thermosetting resin is subjected to hot press molding, the binder melted during molding oozes out, and a binder layer is formed on the separator member surface. In addition, a mold release agent is applied to the mold used for press molding in order to improve the mold release property when the separator member is taken out from the mold, and at least a part of the mold release agent is taken out from the mold. It adheres to the surface of the separator member. Since the binder layer and release agent on the surface of the separator member do not have conductivity, the conductivity of the manufactured separator can be increased by subjecting the separator member to the above polishing removal treatment. .
In the method for producing the fuel cell separator of the present invention,
The step (a) is a step of applying the heat press molding to the surface of the predetermined mold by applying a release agent that enhances the releasability when taking out the separator member from the mold.
The step (b-1) may be a step of removing the release agent from the surface of the separator member by the polishing removal.
Alternatively, in such a method for producing a fuel cell separator of the present invention,
The step (b-1) may be a step of removing, from the separator member surface, the binder that has been softened and exuded on the surface of the separator member by the polishing removal. .

In the method for producing a fuel cell separator of the present invention,
The density of the separator member obtained by the step (a) is based on the density of each material such as the carbon and the binder constituting the raw material and the ratio of each material in the raw material. It is good also as a ratio with respect to the value calculated | required as a density being 93% or more. By setting it as such a structure, the gas impermeability of the separator manufactured can be made sufficient as a separator for fuel cells.

  In order to further clarify the configuration and operation of the present invention described above, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples. First, for convenience of explanation, the configuration and operation of a fuel cell including a separator manufactured based on the separator manufacturing method according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The separator manufacturing method according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  A fuel cell including a separator manufactured according to the separator manufacturing method according to the first embodiment of the present invention has a stack structure in which a plurality of single cells as constituent units are stacked. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of a single cell 28 that is a structural unit of the fuel cell, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the configuration of the single cell 28, and FIG. 5 is a stack structure in which the single cells 28 are stacked. FIG.

  The fuel cell of this example is a polymer electrolyte fuel cell. A polymer electrolyte fuel cell includes a membrane made of a solid polymer exhibiting good conductivity in a wet state as an electrolyte layer. In such a fuel cell, a fuel gas containing hydrogen is supplied to the anode side and an oxidizing gas containing oxygen is supplied to the cathode side, and the following electrochemical reaction proceeds.

H ₂ → 2H ⁺ + 2e ⁻ (1)
(1/2) O ₂ + 2H ⁺ + 2e ⁻ → H ₂ O (2)
H ₂ + (1/2) O ₂ → H ₂ O (3)

  Formula (1) represents the reaction at the anode, Formula (2) represents the reaction at the cathode, and the reaction shown by Formula (3) proceeds in the entire fuel cell. As described above, the fuel cell directly converts chemical energy contained in the fuel supplied to the fuel cell into electric energy, and is known as a device having very high energy efficiency. As shown in FIG. 3, the unit cell 28 that is a constituent unit of the fuel cell is composed of an electrolyte membrane 21, an anode 22, a cathode 23, and separators 30a and 30b.

  The anode 22 and the cathode 23 are gas diffusion electrodes having a sandwich structure with the electrolyte membrane 21 sandwiched from both sides. Separator 30a, 30b forms the flow path of fuel gas and oxidizing gas between anode 22 and cathode 23, sandwiching this sandwich structure from both sides. A fuel gas channel 24P is formed between the anode 22 and the separator 30a, and an oxidizing gas channel 25P is formed between the cathode 23 and the separator 30b. When the fuel cell is actually assembled, a predetermined number of the single cells 28 are stacked to form the stack structure 14.

  In FIG. 3, the ribs that form the gas flow paths are formed only on one side of each separator 30a, 30b. However, in an actual fuel cell, as shown in FIG. 30b has a rib 54 and a rib 55 formed on both surfaces thereof, respectively. The ribs 54 formed on one side of each of the separators 30a and 30b form a fuel gas flow path 24P with the adjacent anode 22, and the rib 55 formed on the other side of the separator 30 is provided in the adjacent single cell. An oxidizing gas passage 25P is formed between the cathode 23 and the cathode 23. Accordingly, the separators 30a and 30b form a gas flow path between the gas diffusion electrodes and play a role of separating the flow of the fuel gas and the oxidizing gas between adjacent single cells. Thus, the separators 30a and 30b are not distinguished in terms of form or function in a fuel cell that is actually assembled, and are hereinafter collectively referred to as a separator 30.

  The ribs 54 and 55 formed on the surface of each separator may have any shape as long as a gas flow path is formed and fuel gas or oxidizing gas can be supplied to the gas diffusion electrode. In the present embodiment, the ribs 54 and 55 formed on the surface of each separator have a plurality of groove-like structures formed in parallel. In FIG. 3, in order to schematically represent the configuration of the single cell 28, the fuel gas flow path 24P and the oxidizing gas flow path 25P are shown in parallel, but in the separator 30 actually used when assembling the fuel cell, The ribs 54 and 55 were formed on both surfaces of the separator 30 so that the ribs 54 and the ribs 55 would be orthogonal to each other.

  The electrolyte membrane 21 is a proton conductive ion exchange membrane formed of a solid polymer material, for example, a fluorine-based resin, and exhibits good electrical conductivity in a wet state. In this example, a Nafion membrane (manufactured by DuPont) was used. On the surface of the electrolyte membrane 21, platinum as a catalyst or an alloy made of platinum and another metal is applied.

  Both the anode 22 and the cathode 23 are formed of carbon cloth woven with yarns made of carbon fibers. In the present embodiment, the anode 22 and the cathode 23 are formed of carbon cloth, but a configuration in which the anode 22 and the cathode 23 are formed of carbon paper or carbon felt made of carbon fiber is also suitable.

  The separator 30 is manufactured according to a manufacturing method described later corresponding to the main part of the present embodiment, and is formed as molded carbon obtained by compressing a carbon material. Four hole structures are provided in the periphery of the separator 30. The fuel gas holes 50 and 51 communicate with the rib 54 forming the fuel gas flow path 34P, and the oxidation gas holes 52 and 53 communicate with the rib 55 forming the oxidation gas flow path 35P. When the fuel cell is assembled, the fuel gas holes 50 and 51 provided in each separator 30 form a fuel gas supply manifold 56 and a fuel gas discharge manifold 57 that penetrate the inside of the fuel cell in the stacking direction. Further, the oxidizing gas holes 52 and 53 provided in each separator 30 form an oxidizing gas supply manifold 58 and an oxidizing gas discharge manifold 59 that penetrate the inside of the fuel cell in the stacking direction.

  When assembling a fuel cell including the above-described members, the separator 30, anode 22, electrolyte membrane 21, cathode 23, and separator 30 are sequentially stacked in order, and current collecting plates 36 and 37, insulating plates 38, 39, end plates 40 and 41 are arranged to complete the stack structure 14 shown in FIG. The current collector plates 36 and 37 are provided with output terminals 36A and 37A, respectively, so that the electromotive force generated in the fuel cell can be output.

  The end plate 40 has two hole structures as shown in FIG. One is a fuel gas hole 42 and the other is an oxidizing gas hole 44. The insulating plate 38 and the current collecting plate 36 adjacent to the end plate 40 form two similar hole structures at positions corresponding to the two hole structures provided in the end plate 40. The fuel gas hole 42 opens at the center of the fuel gas hole 50 provided in the separator 30. When the fuel cell is operated, the fuel gas hole 42 and a fuel supply device (not shown) are connected, and hydrogen-rich fuel gas is supplied into the fuel cell. Similarly, the oxidizing gas hole 44 is formed at a position corresponding to the central portion of the oxidizing gas hole 52 provided in the separator 30. When the fuel cell is operated, the oxidant gas hole 44 is connected to an oxidant gas supply device (not shown), and an oxidant gas containing oxygen is supplied into the fuel cell. Here, the fuel gas supply device and the oxidizing gas supply device are devices that supply a fuel cell by humidifying and pressurizing a predetermined amount of each gas.

  Further, the end plate 41 has two hole structures at positions different from the end plate 40. The insulating plate 39 and the current collecting plate 37 also form two hole structures at the same positions as the end plate 41. One fuel gas hole 43 of the hole structure provided in the end plate 41 opens at a position corresponding to the central portion of the fuel gas hole 51 provided in the separator 30. The oxidizing gas hole 45, which is another hole structure, opens at a position corresponding to the central portion of the oxidizing gas hole 53 provided in the separator 30. When the fuel cell is operated, a fuel gas discharge device (not shown) is connected to the fuel gas hole 43, and an oxidizing gas discharge device (not shown) is connected to the oxidation gas hole 45.

  The stack structure 14 composed of each member described above is held in a state where a predetermined pressing force is applied in the stacking direction, and the fuel cell is completed. The configuration for pressing the stack structure 14 is not shown.

  Next, the flow of the fuel gas and the oxidizing gas in the fuel cell having the above configuration will be described. The fuel gas is introduced into the fuel cell from the predetermined fuel gas supply device described above through the fuel gas hole 42 formed in the end plate 40. Inside the fuel cell, the fuel gas is supplied to the fuel gas flow path 24P provided in each single cell 28 via the fuel gas supply manifold 56, and is subjected to an electrochemical reaction that proceeds on the anode side of each single cell 28. The fuel gas discharged from the fuel gas flow path 24P gathers in the fuel gas discharge manifold 57 and reaches the fuel gas hole 43 of the end plate 41, and is discharged from the fuel gas hole 43 to the outside of the fuel cell. Guided to the fuel gas discharge device.

  Similarly, the oxidizing gas is introduced from the predetermined oxidizing gas supply device described above into the fuel cell through the oxidizing gas hole 44 formed in the end plate 40. Inside the fuel cell, the oxidant gas is supplied to the oxidant gas flow path 25P included in each single cell 28 via the oxidant gas supply manifold 58, and is subjected to an electrochemical reaction that proceeds on the cathode side of each single cell 28. The oxidizing gas discharged from the oxidizing gas flow path 25P gathers in the oxidizing gas discharge manifold 59, reaches the oxidizing gas hole 45 of the end plate 41, and is discharged from the oxidizing gas hole 45 to the predetermined oxidizing gas discharge device. .

  Next, the manufacturing method of the separator 30 corresponding to the principal part of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a process diagram showing a manufacturing method of the separator 30 of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of press molding in the process shown in FIG. The manufacturing process of the separator 30 shown in FIG. 1 is a process in which a raw material powder obtained by adding a binder to a carbon powder is molded by heating press. As a binder to be added to the raw material powder, a cresol novolac type epoxy resin and a novolac are used. It is characterized by using type phenolic resin.

  First, a method for manufacturing the separator 30 will be described with reference to FIG. In order to manufacture the separator 30, first, raw material powder is prepared (step S100). Here, as raw materials, a carbon powder and a binder for binding the carbon powder to each other to give the separator sufficient strength are prepared.

  Generally, a binder is made of a thermosetting resin that undergoes a thermosetting reaction by heating to a predetermined temperature. As a binder for manufacturing a separator, the operating temperature of the fuel cell and the components of the gas supplied to the fuel cell are used. It is desirable to be stable. Therefore, in this embodiment, as described above, the cresol novolac type epoxy resin and the novolac type phenol resin are used as the thermosetting resin used as the binder. The composition content of the binder prepared in step S100 uses cresol novolac type epoxy resin having an epoxy equivalent of 214 gram equivalent and novolac type epoxy resin having an OH equivalent of 103 gram equivalent, respectively. As a curing accelerator, an imidazole compound (2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole) is added at a ratio of 0.5% with respect to the epoxy resin. In step S100, 12% of the binder having such a composition is prepared with respect to the carbon powder.

  As the carbon powder, scaly natural graphite was used in this example. As the scaly natural graphite, those having an average particle diameter of 5 to 50 μm and a particle size distribution of 1 to 200 μm were used. When the particle size of the carbon powder is small, more binder is required in the hot press molding described later. In addition, when the particle size of the carbon powder is large, it becomes difficult to sufficiently uniformly mix the carbon powder and the binder. Considering these matters, as the carbon powder to be used, a powder made of particles having a particle diameter in the above-described range was used.

  Next, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), which is an organic solvent, is added to the raw material powder prepared in step S100, and mixed uniformly with a ball mill to produce a slurry having a viscosity of 200 cps (step S110). Subsequently, this slurry is filled in a spray dryer, and spray-dried under a temperature condition of 80 ° C. and granulated to obtain a powder having an average particle size of about 100 μm (step S120). The viscosity of the slurry produced in step S110 can be adjusted as appropriate so that the particles having the desired particle size described above can be granulated in consideration of the performance of the spray dryer used in step S120. Good.

  In step S120, the slurry prepared by mixing the carbon powder and the binder is granulated using a spray dryer, but a powder in which the carbon and the binder are mixed may be prepared by a different method. For example, the slurry may be pulverized after being dried. In addition, if the raw material powder can be mixed uniformly, instead of the above-described wet kneading, dry kneading in which the raw material powder is mixed without using a solvent at a temperature that does not cure the resin (room temperature to about 100 ° C.). You may do it.

  Here, the carbon used as a raw material should just be a shape which can be mixed with a binder uniformly to an acceptable extent by wet kneading or dry kneading described above. In this embodiment, scaly natural graphite powder composed of particles having a particle size in the above-described range is used in order to mix sufficiently uniformly with the binder and granulate the particles having the particle size described in step S120. It was.

In step S120, when powder composed of particles composed of carbon powder and binder is obtained, these powders are then put into a mold having a predetermined shape (step S130). A state in which the raw material powder is put into the mold 60 is schematically shown in FIG. The mold 60 has an uneven shape on the inner surface that enables the separator 30 having the shape shown in FIG. 4 to be formed by press molding the raw material powder using the mold 60. Here, by pressing at a surface pressure of 1 ton / cm ² and 180 ° C., a separator member having the same shape as the separator 30 shown in FIG. 4 is obtained (step S140). The surface pressure during pressing may be different as long as the manufactured separator 30 has sufficient strength, and the amount of the binder mixed with the carbon powder as the raw material powder is appropriately adjusted according to the selected surface pressure. do it.

  At the time of press molding in step S140, by heating the mold at 180 ° C., the thermosetting resin constituting the binder is once softened and a thermosetting reaction occurs, and at the same time as the press molding, a predetermined strength is given to the separator member. be able to. Here, the heating condition at the time of press molding should just be the conditions which the softening and thermosetting reaction of the above-mentioned resin occur, for example, within the heating time range of 1 to 30 minutes in the temperature range of 140 to 220 ° C. It can be determined as appropriate. Alternatively, after performing heat press molding in a temperature range (80 to 100 ° C.) in which the thermosetting resin softens but does not cause a thermosetting reaction, the molded separator member is placed at 140 to 220 ° C. in a predetermined heating furnace. Thermosetting of the thermosetting resin may be performed by heating for 30 to 600 minutes. In this case, by softening the thermosetting resin at the time of press molding, the thermosetting resin can be spread between the carbon powders to obtain sufficient binding properties. In addition, it is not necessary to complete the thermosetting reaction at the time of pressing, so the time of the pressing process can be shortened, and the thermosetting reaction can be performed collectively later, which is advantageous when manufacturing a large amount of separators. It becomes. The heating for the thermosetting reaction may be performed within a temperature range and a heating time in which the selected thermosetting resin can be thermoset and the constituent materials such as the thermosetting resin are not deteriorated.

  When performing the above-described press molding, if the air in the mold is taken into the raw material powder and the press is performed, the air remains in the molded separator member and bubbles are formed in the separator member. Sometimes. In order to prevent the formation of undesired bubbles locally as described above, the inside of the mold may be evacuated to 10 torr or less during press molding to prevent air from remaining in the separator member. Good.

  Next, in the separator member obtained by hot press molding, the surface layer of the projecting portion of the concavo-convex structure (ribs 54 and 55) that forms the gas flow path when incorporated in the fuel cell is polished and removed (step S150). When the heat press molding in step S140 is performed, when the thermosetting resin is once softened by heating, a part of the thermosetting resin oozes out to the surface of the separator member, and the surface of the obtained separator member is thermosetting. A layer of resin is formed. Since the thermosetting resin does not have conductivity, when such a thermosetting resin layer is formed on the surface, the resistance increases in the manufactured separator, and the conductivity deteriorates. Therefore, by polishing and removing the surface of the separator member, the layer of the thermosetting resin is removed from the separator member to ensure the conductivity of the separator. Here, when the separator is incorporated in the fuel cell, since the contact resistance at the contact portion where the separator and the member adjacent to the separator (gas diffusion electrode) come into contact is particularly problematic, the region corresponding to such a contact portion, That is, the surface of the convex portion is scraped out of the concavo-convex structure formed on the surface of the separator member. In this example, the surface of the convex portion was polished and removed by about 10 μm. Thus, the layer of the thermosetting resin formed on the separator member surface is removed, and the separator 30 is completed.

  In step S150, when the surface of the convex portion of the concavo-convex structure formed on the surface of the separator member is removed by polishing, the thermosetting resin oozes out on the surface of the separator member during hot press molding. In addition to removing the thermosetting resin layer, the release agent attached to the surface of the separator member is also removed at the site where the polishing removal is performed. Since the thermosetting resin added as a binder to the raw material has high adhesion, the mold is heated to improve the releasability when the separator member is taken out from the mold used in the hot press molding after the hot press molding. A release agent is applied prior to press molding. In this example, polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon: registered trademark) was used as the mold release agent. However, at least a part of the mold release agent applied to the mold is used when the separator member is taken out from the mold. It will adhere to the separator member. By performing the polishing removal step of step S150, the release agent attached to the separator member is removed on the surface that can contact the gas diffusion electrode.

  When the density of the separator 30 thus obtained was measured and compared with the theoretical density, the density of the separator 30 was 95% or more of the theoretical density, and sufficient gas impermeability as a fuel cell separator. It had sex. Here, the theoretical density is the density of the carbon powder used as the raw material and the density of the binder, and the average density obtained from the mixing ratio of the carbon powder and the binder in the raw material, when the separator is completely densely formed. Virtually calculated as density. When the separator is actually manufactured, it does not become a completely dense ideal state, but the closer the density of the manufactured separator is to the theoretical density, the more dense the separator is, and its gas impermeability is It becomes good. In order for the manufactured separator to have sufficient gas impermeability as a fuel cell separator, the actual density of the manufactured separator is preferably 93% or more of the theoretical density.

  FIG. 6 shows the result of assembling the fuel cell using the separator 30 manufactured as described above and examining the current-voltage characteristics thereof. In FIG. 6, as a comparative example, current-voltage characteristics in a fuel cell each using a graphitized carbon produced according to a conventionally known technique and a separator made of molded carbon produced according to a conventionally known technique are also shown. Here, a separator made of graphitized carbon produced according to a conventionally known technique is a product obtained by kneading and molding carbon powder and a phenol resin, followed by graphitization and machining to obtain a predetermined shape. It is. In addition, as already described, since bubbles are formed inside the baked carbon due to water generated in the firing step, the separator made of graphitized carbon used as a comparative example here, after the firing step, Furthermore, the resin is impregnated to block the bubbles, and gas impermeability in the separator is ensured. In addition, a separator made of molded carbon produced according to a conventionally known technique is produced by adding a sufficient amount of a binder made of a phenol resin to a carbon powder and kneading, followed by hot press molding. Here, according to the method disclosed in the publication (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-246568) described above as the prior art, as a sufficient amount of binder to ensure the gas impermeability of the separator, 20% or more with respect to the carbon powder. Percent binder was added.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the fuel cell assembled using the separator 30 of the present example shows substantially the same current-voltage characteristics as a fuel cell assembled using a conventionally known separator made of graphitized carbon. The battery characteristics are superior to those of a fuel cell assembled using a conventionally known separator made of molded carbon. That is, even when the output current value is increased, a sufficiently high output voltage can be maintained. Here, the battery characteristics of a fuel cell assembled using a separator made of a conventionally known molded carbon are inferior because when the binder is molded by a hot press, the surface of the molded separator is stained with a softened binder. This is because a binder layer is formed on the separator surface. Since a binder made of phenolic resin has no electrical conductivity, when a fuel cell is assembled using such a separator, the internal resistance of the fuel cell increases and a sufficient output voltage is secured when the output current value is large. It becomes difficult.

  According to the separator manufacturing method of the present embodiment described above, since the phenol resin and the epoxy resin are mixed and used as the binder to be added to the carbon powder, the thermosetting resin used as the binder at the time of hot press molding is chemically used. These resins do not generate gas (water vapor) when they are reacted and thermally cured. Therefore, the separator with sufficient strength can be produced without causing the separator to expand or crack due to the gas generated during heating.

  The phenolic resin and the epoxy resin are chemically reacted with each other at the time of hot press molding, causing cross-linking between molecules, and thermosetting. The state of this reaction is shown in FIG. The phenol resin has a hydroxyl group, and when only the phenol resin is used as a binder, the hydroxyl groups of the phenol resin react with each other to generate water. Thus, when only a phenol resin is used as a binder, when the heating at the time of press molding is rapidly performed and the reaction between the hydroxyl groups proceeds rapidly, the separator member obtained by press molding by the water vapor generated rapidly There is a risk of swelling. On the other hand, when a phenol resin and an epoxy resin are used as the binder, as shown in FIG. 9, the hydroxyl group of the phenol resin reacts with the epoxy group of the epoxy resin, so that no water vapor is generated.

  In order to sufficiently obtain the effect of suppressing the generation of water vapor during hot press molding by using a combination of a phenol resin and an epoxy resin as a binder, it is undesirable from the hydroxyl group of the phenol resin used as the binder. It is necessary that the epoxy resin used as the binder has a sufficient amount of epoxy groups to react with the hydroxyl groups so that no water vapor is generated. For example, when using an equal amount of an epoxy resin and a phenol resin, an epoxy resin having an epoxy equivalent of 100 to 250 gram equivalent and a phenol resin having an OH equivalent of 100 to 120 gram equivalent may be used. When the epoxy resin and the phenol resin in the binder undergo a chemical reaction with heating and are thermally cured, the amount of the epoxy group that is subjected to this chemical reaction in the epoxy resin, and the chemical reaction in the phenol resin. By setting the value of the ratio to the amount of hydroxyl group to be 0.8 to 1.2, it is possible to balance the amount of epoxy resin and the amount of phenol resin in the binder. Here, since the epoxy resin requires a long time for thermosetting compared to the phenol resin, the production time can be obtained while obtaining the effect of suppressing the gas generation by balancing the amount of the epoxy resin and the amount of the phenol resin. It is possible to suppress the prolonged period. It should be noted that the amount of epoxy resin may be set larger than the amount of phenol resin as long as the manufacturing time is acceptable.

  In this embodiment, a cresol novolac type epoxy resin is used as an epoxy resin used as a binder and a novolac type phenol resin is used as a phenol resin, but different types of resins may be used. For example, as the epoxy resin, in addition to the cresol novolac type, a glycidylamine type, a bisphenol A type, or the like can be used. As the phenol resin, a resol type other than the novolac type can be used. In any case, by using a combination of an epoxy resin and a phenol resin, the above-described effect of suppressing the amount of gas generated during heating can be obtained.

  Here, since the property of the separator finally manufactured changes with kinds of resin to be used, the kind of resin to be used may be appropriately selected according to properties and performance desired for the separator to be manufactured. For example, when a cresol novolac type is used as the epoxy resin, the heat resistance of the separator can be improved. On the other hand, when the bisphenol A type is used as the epoxy resin, the separator can be softened, and it is possible to prevent the separator from becoming brittle and easily broken by being too stiff. Alternatively, when both of these cresol novolac type and bisphenol A type are used as an epoxy resin, the advantages of the respective resins can be given to the separator according to the mixing ratio.

  Furthermore, according to the manufacturing method of the separator for a fuel cell of this example, since the separator member is produced by hot press molding without performing the firing step, machining for cutting a predetermined shape from the fired body is performed. This process becomes unnecessary. Therefore, the manufacturing process can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

  Further, in the method for producing a separator for a fuel cell according to the present embodiment, since scaly natural graphite is used as the carbon powder used as a raw material, the amount of binder can be reduced as compared with the case of using other types of carbon powder. There is an effect that can be done. That is, in the powder of scaly natural graphite, since each particle constituting the powder is in the form of flakes, the scaly natural graphite powder itself has a predetermined binding force, and the binding power sufficient for the carbon powder constituting the separator. The amount of binder to be added in order to impart the amount of the resin is smaller. In addition, by using a powder composed of particles having an average particle size of 5 to 50 μm and a particle size distribution of 1 to 200 μm as the carbon powder, the required amount of binder is reduced compared to the case of using carbon powder composed of finer particles. Can do. Since the thermosetting resin used as the binder does not have conductivity, the amount of the binder added to the raw material can be reduced, so that the conductivity of the manufactured separator can be improved. Note that the size range of the particles constituting the carbon powder is fine enough to uniformly mix the carbon powder and the binder.

  Furthermore, the intensity | strength of the manufactured separator can be improved by restraining the amount of binders added to a raw material. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the amount of binder added to the raw material powder and the strength of the separator to be manufactured. At room temperature, the strength of the separator increases as the amount of binder added increases, and the strength indicated by the separator is maximized and stabilized when the amount of binder added exceeds about 10% of the amount of carbon powder. On the other hand, under the temperature condition of 140 ° C., the separator strength increases as the amount of binder increases until the strength of the separator reaches a maximum, as in the case of room temperature. If it exceeds about%, the separator strength decreases as the amount of binder increases. As in this example, when the scaly natural graphite is used as the carbon powder and the binder amount is reduced to about 12% of the carbon powder amount, the separator strength under high temperature conditions can be increased. The operating temperature of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell is higher than room temperature (for example, 80 to 100 ° C.), and the durability of the fuel cell can be improved by increasing the strength of the separator under such a high temperature condition. it can. Further, the upper limit of the heat resistant temperature of the solid polymer film constituting the solid polymer fuel cell is about 140 ° C., and the separator amount is reduced in the heat resistant temperature range of the solid polymer film by reducing the amount of the binder as described above. Sufficient strength can be secured.

  Furthermore, in the method for manufacturing a fuel cell separator of the present invention, the convex surface of the concavo-convex structure formed on the surface of the separator member obtained by hot press molding is polished, and the binder layer formed on the separator member surface is removed to remove the separator. Since 30 is manufactured, a separator having sufficiently high conductivity can be obtained. FIG. 8 shows the amount of the binder added to the raw material powder and the contact resistance exhibited by the manufactured separator for the case where such polishing for removing the binder layer formed on the surface of the separator member is performed and the case where it is not performed. It is explanatory drawing showing a relationship. The thermosetting resin added as a binder does not exhibit conductivity, and as the amount of binder added increases, the amount of binder that oozes out on the surface of the separator member during hot press molding increases, and the binder layer formed on the surface of the separator member becomes thicker. Therefore, the contact resistance of the separator increases as the amount of binder to be added increases. On the other hand, when the above polishing process is performed, such a binder layer is removed, so that the conductivity of the separator is sufficiently ensured, and the contact resistance of the separator is increased even if the amount of the added binder is increased. The extent of this is much smaller (see FIG. 8).

  In addition to removing the binder layer on the surface of the separator member by performing the above-described polishing treatment on the separator member obtained by hot press molding, as described above, the mold release adhered to the surface of the separator member The agent can also be removed. In addition to having no electrical conductivity, the mold release agent exhibits water repellency, and in addition to improving the electrical conductivity by polishing the surface of the separator member, the separator surface has an undesired water repellency. It can be prevented from being tinged. The water repellency of the separator affects the drainage in the gas flow path inside the fuel cell assembled using this separator, and the drainage in the fuel cell may deteriorate due to the separator having an undesired water repellency. However, such inconvenience can be avoided by polishing the surface of the separator member.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Process drawing showing the manufacturing method of the separator 30 which is an Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing showing a mode that the separator 30 is manufactured by pressure molding. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a single cell 28. FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view showing the structure of a fuel cell. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a stack structure 14 in which single cells 28 are stacked. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing current-voltage characteristics of a fuel cell assembled using a separator 30. FIG. It is explanatory drawing showing the relationship between the quantity of the binder added to a raw material, and the intensity | strength of the separator manufactured. It is explanatory drawing showing the relationship between the binder amount added to a raw material, and the contact resistance of the separator manufactured. It is explanatory drawing showing a mode that an epoxy resin and a phenol resin react.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 ... Stack structure 21 ... Electrolyte membrane 22 ... Anode 23 ... Cathode 24P ... Fuel gas flow path 25P ... Oxidation gas flow path 28 ... Single cell 30 ... Separator 30a, 30b ... Separator 34P ... Fuel gas flow path 35P ... Oxidation gas flow path 36, 37 ... current collector plate 36A, 37A ... output terminal 38, 39 ... insulating plate 40, 41 ... end plate 42, 43 ... fuel gas hole 44, 45 ... oxidizing gas hole 50, 51 ... fuel gas hole 52, 53 ... Oxidizing gas holes 54, 55 ... ribs 56 ... fuel gas supply manifold 57 ... fuel gas discharge manifold 58 ... oxidizing gas supply manifold 59 ... oxidizing gas discharge manifold 60 ... mold

Claims (9)

In the method for producing a fuel cell separator,
(A) A raw material containing carbon and a binder, the raw material containing an epoxy resin and a phenol resin as the binder, and heat-press-molded in a predetermined mold to form a separator member having a predetermined shape When,
(B) providing a fuel cell separator from the separator member,
When the epoxy resin in the binder and the phenol resin are thermally cured by causing a chemical reaction with heating, the amount of epoxy groups used for the chemical reaction in the epoxy resin, and in the phenol resin A method for producing a fuel cell separator, characterized in that a ratio value with respect to the amount of hydroxyl group subjected to the chemical reaction is set to 0.8 to 1.2. A method for producing a fuel cell separator according to claim 1,
The step (a) is a step of performing the hot press molding in a temperature range of 140 to 220 ° C.
The fuel cell separator is a separator for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell. A method for producing a fuel cell separator.   3. The method for producing a fuel cell separator according to claim 1, wherein the epoxy resin is made of at least a cresol novolac type epoxy resin, and the phenol resin is made of at least a novolac type phenol resin. The method for producing a fuel cell separator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the carbon is a powder composed of scaly natural graphite particles having an average particle diameter of 5 to 50 µm. A method for producing a fuel cell separator according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The step (a)
(A-1) a step of uniformly mixing the carbon and the binder into a slurry;
(A-2) spray-drying the slurry and granulating to obtain a powder having an average particle size of 50 to 150 μm and a particle size distribution of 50 to 300 μm,
A method for producing a separator for a fuel cell, wherein the separator member is formed by hot press molding the obtained powder. A method for producing a fuel cell separator according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The step (b)
(B-1) Of the surfaces of the separator member formed in the step (a), when the separator obtained from the separator member is incorporated in a fuel cell, it corresponds to the surface that contacts the member adjacent to the separator The manufacturing method of the separator for fuel cells provided with the process of grind | polishing and removing the surface to perform. It is a manufacturing method of the separator for fuel cells of Claim 6,
The step (a) is a step of applying the heat press molding to the surface of the predetermined mold by applying a release agent that enhances the releasability when taking out the separator member from the mold.
The step (b-1) is a step of removing the release agent from the surface of the separator member by polishing and removing. A method for producing a separator for a fuel cell. It is a manufacturing method of the separator for fuel cells of Claim 6,
The step (b-1) is a step of removing, from the surface of the separator member, the binder that has been softened and exuded on the surface of the separator member by the polishing and removing from the surface of the separator member. Manufacturing method. A method for producing a fuel cell separator according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The density of the separator member obtained by the step (a) is based on the density of each material such as the carbon and the binder constituting the raw material and the ratio of the respective material in the raw material. The manufacturing method of the separator for fuel cells whose ratio with respect to the value calculated | required as a density is 93% or more.

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