JP2010015939A - Fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a membrane structure which suppresses deterioration due to stress concentration of an electrolyte membrane. <P>SOLUTION: The polymer electrolyte membrane 20 of a power generation lamination part 11 of a solid polymer fuel cell is constituted of an inner part 20B made of a fluororesin and a strength part 20A which is formed at the outer circumference of the inner part and has a larger strength than the inner part. Furthermore, protection layers 90, 91 are provided which are installed on the end part side of the electrolyte membrane 20 than the boundary part side between the strength part 20A and the inner part 20B, being on the strength part 20A of the electrolyte membrane 20 and protect the electrolyte membrane 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell.

  Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a fuel cell in which a protective layer is provided on the periphery of an electrolyte membrane.

JP 2007-109576 A

  However, in the fuel cell, when an external force is applied, stress concentrates in the vicinity of the edge portion of the protective layer (end surface of the protective layer), and the electrolyte membrane corresponding to the portion may cause creep. As a result, the electrolyte membrane may be deteriorated.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to suppress deterioration of an electrolyte membrane.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

[Application Example 1]
A fuel cell, an electrolyte membrane, comprising an inner portion and a strength portion formed on an outer peripheral portion of the inner portion and having a strength higher than that of the inner portion, and on the strength portion of the electrolyte membrane And a protective layer for protecting the electrolyte membrane.

  According to the fuel cell having the above configuration, even when stress is generated in the protective layer when an external force is applied to the protective layer, the protective layer is provided on the strength portion, so that the electrolyte membrane creeps. It is possible to suppress waking. As a result, deterioration of the electrolyte membrane can be suppressed.

[Application Example 2]
In the fuel cell according to Application Example 1, the protective layer is provided on the strength portion of the electrolyte membrane and closer to the end portion of the electrolyte membrane than a boundary portion between the strength portion and the inner portion. The fuel cell characterized by the above-mentioned.

  In this way, when an external force is applied to the protective layer, even if stress concentration occurs in the protective layer, the protective layer is provided on the strength portion. Can be suppressed. As a result, deterioration of the electrolyte membrane can be suppressed.

[Application Example 3]
The fuel cell according to Application Example 1 or Application Example 2, further comprising a support portion provided on the protective layer.

  In this way, when an external force is applied to the support portion, even if stress concentration occurs in the support portion, the edge of the support portion is provided on the strength portion, so that the electrolyte membrane causes creep. This can be suppressed. As a result, deterioration of the electrolyte membrane can be suppressed.

[Application Example 4]
4. The fuel cell according to any one of application examples 1 to 3, wherein the strength portion of the electrolyte membrane is formed by impregnating a porous body with an electrolyte.

  In this way, an electrolyte membrane having a high strength portion can be easily produced.

[Application Example 5]
5. The fuel cell according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 4, wherein the strength portion of the electrolyte membrane is formed thicker than the inner portion.

  In this way, the strength portion can be created without using other materials.

[Application Example 6]
The fuel cell according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 5, wherein the strength portion of the electrolyte membrane is made of a hydrocarbon-based resin and the inner portion is made of a fluorine-based resin.

  In this way, the strength portion can be formed without degrading the performance as the electrolyte membrane.

[Application Example 7]
The fuel cell according to any one of Application Examples 1 to 6, further comprising: an electrode provided on the inner portion of the electrolyte membrane; and a gas diffusion layer provided on the electrode.

[Application Example 8]
A fuel cell,
An electrolyte membrane having an inner portion and a strength portion formed on at least a part of the outer peripheral side of the inner portion and having a strength higher than that of the inner portion;
A protective layer provided on the strength portion of the electrolyte membrane for protecting the electrolyte membrane;
A fuel cell comprising:

  According to the fuel cell having the above configuration, even when stress is generated in the protective layer when an external force is applied to the protective layer, the protective layer is provided on the strength portion, so that the electrolyte membrane creeps. It is possible to suppress waking. As a result, deterioration of the electrolyte membrane can be suppressed.

[Application Example 9]
In the fuel cell according to Application Example 8,
The protective layer is
The fuel cell is provided on the strength portion of the electrolyte membrane so as not to contact a portion other than the strength portion.

  In this way, when an external force is applied to the protective layer, even if stress concentration occurs in the protective layer, the protective layer is provided on the strength portion. Can be suppressed. As a result, deterioration of the electrolyte membrane can be suppressed.

[Application Example 10]
In the fuel cell according to Application Example 8 or Application Example 9,
The electrolyte membrane is
A fuel cell comprising an outer portion formed at least at a part on the outer peripheral side of the strength portion and having a strength lower than that of the strength portion.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described fuel cell, and can be realized in other aspects of the device invention such as a single cell assembly. Further, the present invention is not limited to the device invention, and can be realized in the form of a method invention such as a fuel cell manufacturing method.

Hereinafter, a fuel cell according to the present invention will be described based on examples with reference to the drawings.
A. Example:
A1. Fuel cell configuration;
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged X area surrounded by a broken line in FIG. The fuel cell 1000 of the present embodiment is a solid polymer fuel cell. In addition, the fuel cell 1000 of the present embodiment has a stack structure in which a cell assembly 10 that is a unit in which an electrochemical reaction proceeds and a cell unit 100 including a separator 30 are stacked. Hereinafter, the direction in which the cell assemblies 10 are stacked is also referred to as a stacking direction. Moreover, in the plate-shaped member which comprises the cell assembly 10, the surface along the thickness direction is also called an end surface. The thickness direction and the stacking direction substantially coincide. In the plate-like member constituting the cell assembly 10, a surface along a direction perpendicular to the stacking direction (thickness direction) is also referred to as a surface direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cell assembly 10 includes a power generation laminate portion 11 and a seal portion 16.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the power generation stacking unit 11 includes a plate-like MEA (Membrane Electrode Assembly) 12 and a pair of flow path forming units 14 and 15 that sandwich the MEA 12.

  The MEA 12 includes an electrolyte membrane 20, a cathode 22, an anode 24, protective layers 90 and 91, and gas diffusion layers 26 and 28. The MEA 12 is formed by sandwiching the electrolyte membrane 20 between the protective layer 90 and the cathode 22, the protective layer 91 and the anode 24, and sandwiching the sandwich structure between the gas diffusion layers 26 and 28. Below, the specific structure of each member of MEA12 is demonstrated.

  FIG. 3 is a front view of the electrolyte membrane 20. The electrolyte membrane 20 shown in FIG. 3 corresponds to a view of the electrolyte membrane 20 of FIG. 2 viewed from the right side. The electrolyte membrane 20 is a proton conductive ion exchange membrane formed of a solid polymer electrolyte, and has a strength portion 20A and an inner portion 20B as shown in FIG. In this example, a fluororesin provided with perfluorocarbon sulfonic acid is used as the solid polymer electrolyte. In addition to the fluororesin, a hydrocarbon resin may be used as the solid polymer electrolyte. The direction along the membrane surface of the electrolyte membrane 20 and from the peripheral edge toward the center is also referred to as the inner direction, and the direction opposite to the inner direction is also referred to as the outer direction.

  The strength portion 20A is stronger than the inner portion 20B, and is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the inner portion 20B as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. In other words, the strength part 20A is formed at the peripheral edge of the electrolyte membrane 20, and the inner part 20B is formed in the inner side direction from the strength part 20A. The strength portion 20A is formed by impregnating a fluororesin as a polymer electrolyte into a porous body formed in a frame shape. This porous body is formed of, for example, a metal, a resin, or a resin. The inner part 20B is made of a film-like fluorine-based resin.

  The electrolyte membrane 20 is manufactured as follows. That is, a porous body formed in a frame shape and an electrolyte solution in which a fluorine-based resin as a polymer electrolyte is dissolved are prepared. The electrolyte solution is cast on the porous body and the inner frame portion of the porous body, and then dried. Can be created.

  The cathode 22 and the anode 24 are provided so as to cover the strength part 20A in the electrolyte membrane 20, and a part thereof is provided on the inner part 20B. The cathode 22 and the anode 24 include a catalyst that promotes an electrochemical reaction, such as platinum or an alloy made of platinum and other metals. In order to form the cathode 22 and the anode 24, for example, a carbon powder carrying a catalyst metal such as platinum is prepared, and a paste using this catalyst-carrying carbon and an electrolyte similar to the electrolyte constituting the electrolyte membrane 20 is used. And the prepared catalyst paste may be applied on the electrolyte membrane 20.

  The protective layer 90 and the protective layer 91 are provided on the strength portion 20A of the electrolyte membrane 20 so as not to contact the inner portion 20B. Specifically, the protective layer 90 and the protective layer 91 are provided on the strength portion 20A and in the outward direction from the end face TM1 (see FIG. 2) closest to the center portion of the electrolyte membrane 20 in the strength portion 20A. . In this case, in the protective layer 90, as shown in FIG. 2, the end surface TM2 closest to the center portion of the electrolyte membrane 20 is positioned outward from the end surface TM1 of the strength portion 20A. Further, in the protective layer 91, as shown in FIG. 2, the end surface TM3 closest to the center portion of the electrolyte membrane 20 is positioned outward from the end surface TM1 of the strength portion 20A.

  In this embodiment, the protective layer 90 and the protective layer 91 are made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In addition, the protective layer 90 and the protective layer 91 should just be excellent in the heat resistance and acid resistance in high temperature (for example, 120 to 200 degreeC), for example, a polypropylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, perfluoroalkoxy fluorine, for example It may be formed of resin, polyethersulfone, polyetheretherketone, polysulfone, polyimide or the like.

  The gas diffusion layers 26 and 28 are made of a conductive porous body, and are formed of, for example, carbon cloth or carbon paper. The gas diffusion layers 26 and 28 are formed of a porous body having an average pore diameter smaller than that of flow path forming portions 14 and 15 described later.

  The flow path forming portions 14 and 15 are conductive thin plate members formed of a metal porous body such as a foam metal or a metal mesh, or a carbon porous body. Using the body. The flow path forming portions 14 and 15 are arranged so as to come into contact with the MEA 12 and the separator 30, and the space formed by a large number of pores formed in the interior of the cell passes through the gas used for the electrochemical reaction. Functions as a gas flow path. That is, the space formed by the pores of the flow path forming unit 14 disposed between the cathode 22 and the separator 30 functions as an in-cell oxidizing gas flow path through which an oxidizing gas containing oxygen passes. In addition, the space formed by the pores of the flow path forming unit 15 disposed between the anode 24 and the separator 30 functions as an in-cell fuel gas flow path through which the hydrogen-containing fuel gas passes.

  The flow path forming part 15 is slightly larger than the flow path forming part 14 in the surface direction, that is, the area is larger than that of the flow path forming part 14 in the surface direction.

  The seal portion 16 is provided between the adjacent separators 30 and on the outer peripheral portion of the power generation stacking portion 11 and supports the outer peripheral portion of the MEA 12. Specifically, in the seal portion 16, the end surface TM4 (see FIG. 2) closest to the center portion of the electrolyte membrane 20 is provided on the outer side than the end surface TM2 of the protective layer 90 and the end surface TM3 of the protective layer 91. The seal portion 16 is made of an elastic material, that is, rubber (for example, silicon rubber, butyl rubber, fluorine rubber) or a thermoplastic elastomer. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the seal portion 16 is bonded to one adjacent separator 30 without a gap on one side. In addition, a gas stopper convex portion 60 is formed on the other side of the seal portion 16, and the seal portion 16 contacts the other adjacent separator 30 at the top of the gas stopper convex portion 60. As described above, the seal portion 16 is integrally formed with the MEA 12 and the separator 30.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of the cell assembly 10 in which the power generation laminate portion 11 and the seal portion 16 are integrally formed. As shown in FIG. 4, the seal portion 16 is a substantially rectangular thin plate-like member, and is provided in the center portion with six hole portions (six hole portions 40 to 45 described later) provided in the outer peripheral portion. And a substantially square hole into which the power generation laminated portion 11 is incorporated. FIG. 4 is a view as seen from the right side in FIG. 1, showing the side on which the gas stop convex portion 60 described above is formed, and the power generation laminated portion fitted in the hole provided in the central portion. In FIG. 11, the flow path forming part 14 appears on the surface.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the gas stopper convex portion 60 is provided on the outer periphery of the flow path forming portion 14 incorporated in the hole portion provided in the central portion of the seal portion 16 and on the outer peripheral portion of the seal portion 16. It is a linear convex part formed continuously as a whole so as to surround each of the six hole parts. Since the sealing portion 16 is made of an elastic material, a gas sealing property is obtained at the contact portion between the gas stopper convex portion 60 and the separator 30 by applying a pressing force in a direction parallel to the stacking direction in the fuel cell. It can be secured. In the following description, an area corresponding to a portion exposed in the hole formed in the central portion of the seal portion 16 in the power generation laminate portion 11 and the separator 30 is referred to as a power generation region DA.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the separator 30 is sandwiched between the cathode side plate 31 in contact with the flow path forming unit 14, the anode side plate 32 in contact with the flow path forming unit 15, the cathode side plate 31 and the anode side plate 32. And an intermediate plate 33. These three plates are thin plate-like members formed of a conductive material, for example, a metal such as stainless steel or titanium or a titanium alloy. The cathode side plate 31, the intermediate plate 33, and the anode side plate 32 are superposed in this order. For example, they are joined by diffusion joining. Each of these three types of plates has a flat surface with no irregularities, and each has a hole with a predetermined shape at a predetermined position. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing the shape of the cathode side plate 31. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the shape of the anode side plate 32. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the shape of the intermediate plate 33. 5 to 7 are views showing a state in which each plate is viewed from the same side as the seal portion 16 shown in FIG. 4, that is, from the right side in FIG. In FIGS. 5 to 7, the power generation area DA described above is shown surrounded by a one-dot broken line.

  Each of the cathode side plate 31 and the anode side plate 32 is provided with six holes (holes 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45) at the same positions as the seal part 16 on the outer periphery thereof. . These six holes overlap each other when the thin plate-like members are stacked to form a stack structure, thereby forming a manifold that guides fluid parallel to the stacking direction inside the fuel cell. The intermediate plate 33 does not have the holes 44 and 45 among the six holes, but a plurality of refrigerant holes 58 to be described later are provided so as to overlap with the positions corresponding to the holes 44 and 45. Yes.

The hole 40 provided in each of the thin plate members forms an oxidizing gas supply manifold (indicated as O ₂ in in the figure), and the hole 41 forms an oxidizing gas discharge manifold (in the figure, O ₂ out and Represent). The hole 43 forms a fuel gas supply manifold (denoted as H ₂ in in the figure), and the hole 42 forms a fuel gas discharge manifold (denoted as H ₂ out in the figure). Further, the hole 44 forms a refrigerant supply manifold (denoted as CLT in in the figure), and the hole 45 forms a refrigerant discharge manifold (denoted as CLT out in the figure).

  Further, the cathode side plate 31 includes an oxidizing gas supply slit 50 provided along one side (the upper end portion in FIG. 5) of the power generation area DA in the vicinity of the side of the hole portion 40 on the center side of the plate, and the plate in the hole portion 41. An oxidizing gas discharge slit 51 provided along the other side (lower end in FIG. 5) of the power generation area DA is provided in the vicinity of the side on the center side (see FIG. 5). Similarly, the anode side plate 32 has a fuel gas discharge slit 52 provided along one side of the power generation area DA (upper end portion in FIG. 6) in the vicinity of the side of the hole 40 on the center side of the plate. A fuel gas supply slit 53 provided along the other side (lower end in FIG. 6) of the power generation area DA is provided in the vicinity of the side on the plate center side (see FIG. 6).

  In the intermediate plate 33, the shape of the hole 40 is different from that of other plates, and the hole 40 of the intermediate plate 33 includes a communication portion 54. The communication portion 54 is formed so as to overlap the oxidizing gas supply slit 50 when the intermediate plate 33 and the cathode side plate 31 are laminated, and communicates the oxidizing gas supply manifold and the oxidizing gas supply slit 50. Similarly, the hole portion 41 is provided with a communication portion 55 so as to overlap the oxidizing gas discharge slit 51 (see FIG. 7). Further, the intermediate plate 33 communicates with each of the hole 43 and the hole 42 and overlaps with the fuel gas supply slit 53 or the fuel gas discharge slit 52 of the anode side plate 32. Is provided.

  Inside the fuel cell, the oxidizing gas flowing through the oxidizing gas supply manifold formed by the hole 40 passes through the space formed by the communication portion 54 of the intermediate plate 33 and the oxidizing gas supply slit 50 of the cathode side plate 31. It flows into the in-cell oxidizing gas channel formed in the channel forming part 14. In the in-cell oxidizing gas flow path, the oxidizing gas flows in a direction parallel to the flow path forming portion 14 (surface direction) and further diffuses in a direction perpendicular to the surface direction (stacking direction). The oxidizing gas diffused in the stacking direction reaches the cathode 22 from the flow path forming part 14 through the gas diffusion layer 26 and is subjected to an electrochemical reaction. As described above, the oxidizing gas that has passed through the in-cell oxidizing gas flow path while contributing to the electrochemical reaction is formed from the flow path forming portion 14 by the oxidizing gas discharge slit 51 of the cathode side plate 31 and the communication portion 55 of the intermediate plate 33. The exhaust gas is discharged to the oxidizing gas discharge manifold formed by the hole 41 through the space. Similarly, the fuel gas flowing through the fuel gas supply manifold formed by the hole 43 inside the fuel cell passes through the space formed by the communication portion 57 of the intermediate plate 33 and the fuel gas supply slit 53 of the anode side plate 32. Then, it flows into the in-cell fuel gas flow path formed in the flow path forming portion 15. In the in-cell fuel gas flow path, the fuel gas flows in the plane direction and further diffuses in the stacking direction. The fuel gas diffused in the stacking direction reaches the anode 24 from the flow path forming unit 15 through the gas diffusion layer 28 and is subjected to an electrochemical reaction. Thus, the fuel gas that has passed through the in-cell fuel gas flow path while contributing to the electrochemical reaction is formed from the flow path forming portion 15 by the fuel gas discharge slit 52 of the anode side plate 32 and the communication portion 56 of the intermediate plate 33. It is discharged to the fuel gas discharge manifold formed by the hole 42 through the space.

  4 to 7, a position corresponding to the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 1 is shown as a 1-1 cross section. In FIG. 1, in the cross section 1-1, from the oxidizing gas supply manifold formed by the hole 40, through the communication portion 54 of the intermediate plate 33 and the oxidizing gas supply slit 50 of the cathode side plate 31, The state in which the oxidizing gas is supplied to is indicated by an arrow. Further, in the section 1-1, the oxidation is performed from the flow path forming portion 14 to the oxidizing gas discharge manifold formed by the hole portion 41 through the oxidizing gas discharge slit 51 of the cathode side plate 31 and the communication portion 55 of the intermediate plate 33. It shows how the gas is being discharged.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the intermediate plate 33 further includes a plurality of elongated refrigerant holes 58 formed in parallel to each other in a region including the power generation region DA. The end portions of these refrigerant holes 58 overlap with the hole portions 44 and 45 when the intermediate plate 33 is overlapped with another thin plate member, and form an inter-cell refrigerant flow path in the separator 30 for the refrigerant to flow. To do. That is, the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant supply manifold formed by the hole 44 inside the fuel cell is distributed to the inter-cell refrigerant flow path formed by the refrigerant hole 58, and the refrigerant discharged from the inter-cell refrigerant flow path is , And is discharged to the refrigerant discharge manifold formed by the hole 45.

  As described above, in the fuel cell 1000 according to the present embodiment, the protective layers 90 and 91 are provided at the peripheral portion of the electrolyte membrane 20, and the protective layers 90 and 91 are on the strength portion 20 </ b> A of the electrolyte membrane 20 and on the inner side. It is provided so as not to contact the portion 20B. In this way, even if stress concentration occurs near the end faces TM2 and TM3 of the protective layers 90 and 91 when an external force in the stacking direction is applied to the protective layers 90 and 91, the protective layers 90 and 91 Since it is provided on the strength portion 20A, the electrolyte membrane 20 can be prevented from creeping. As a result, deterioration of the electrolyte membrane 20 can be suppressed.

  In the fuel cell 1000 of the present embodiment, the end surface TM4 of the seal portion 16 is more outward than the end surface TM2 of the protective layer 90 and the end surface TM3 of the protective layer 91, in other words, from the end surface TM1 of the strength portion 20A in the electrolyte membrane 20. Is also provided in the outward direction. In this way, even when stress concentration occurs near the end surface TM4 of the seal portion 16 when an external force in the stacking direction is applied to the seal portion 16, the end surface TM4 is provided on the strength portion 20A. Therefore, the electrolyte membrane 20 can be prevented from creeping. As a result, deterioration of the electrolyte membrane 20 can be suppressed.

  In the fuel cell 1000 of the present embodiment, the strength portion 20A of the electrolyte membrane 20 is formed by impregnating a porous body with an electrolyte. In this way, it is possible to easily create the electrolyte membrane 20 including the strength portion 20A having high strength. Further, since the strength portion 20A and the inner portion 20B are connected by the electrolyte, it is possible to suppress the separation between the strength portion 20A and the inner portion 20B.

  In this embodiment, the electrolyte membrane 20 corresponds to the electrolyte membrane in the claims, the strength portion 20A corresponds to the strength portion in the claims, and the inner portion 20B corresponds to the inner side in the claims. The protective layers 90 and 91 correspond to the protective layer in the claims, the seal portion 16 corresponds to the support portion in the claims, and the cathode 22 or the anode 24 corresponds to the claims. The gas diffusion layers 26 and 28 correspond to the gas diffusion layers in the claims.

B. Variation:
The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof. For example, the following modifications are possible.

B1. Modification 1:
In the fuel cell 1000 of the above embodiment, the strength portion 20A of the electrolyte membrane 20 is formed by impregnating the porous body with the electrolyte, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the strength portion 20 </ b> A may be formed by forming a thick peripheral portion of the electrolyte membrane 20. In this way, the strength portion 20A can be created without using other materials.

  Further, the inner portion 20B is formed of a fluorine-based resin, and the peripheral portion of the electrolyte membrane 20 is formed of a hydrocarbon-based resin so that the peripheral portion formed of the hydrocarbon-based resin is formed as the strength portion 20A. Good. In this way, the strength portion 20A can be formed without hindering proton conductivity, that is, without reducing the performance as the electrolyte membrane 20.

  Furthermore, the strength portion 20A may be formed by bonding metal ions (for example, sodium ions) to the sulfonic acid group of the electrolyte at the peripheral portion of the electrolyte membrane 20. In this way, the strength portion 20A can be easily formed by only partially improving the electrolyte membrane 20.

B2. Modification 2:
In the fuel cell 1000 of the above embodiment, the electrolyte membrane 20 has the inner portion 20B and the strength portion 20A, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the fuel cell 1000, the electrolyte membrane 20 is formed of the same material as that of the inner portion 20B on the outer peripheral portion of the strength portion 20A in addition to the inner portion 20B and the strength portion 20A, and the outer portion having a lower strength than the strength portion 20A. May be provided. Even in such a fuel cell 1000, the effects of the above-described embodiments can be obtained.

It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram showing the schematic structure of the fuel cell in one Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which expands and shows the X area | region enclosed with the broken line in FIG. 2 is a front view of an electrolyte membrane 20. FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of a cell assembly 10 in which a power generation laminate portion 11 and a seal portion 16 are integrally formed. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the shape of a cathode side plate 31. It is explanatory drawing which shows the shape of the anode side plate 32. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the shape of the intermediate | middle plate.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Cell assembly 11 ... Power generation laminated part 12 ... MEA
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 ... Channel formation part 15 ... Channel formation part 16 ... Seal part 20 ... Electrolyte membrane 20A ... Strength part 20B ... Inner part 22 ... Cathode 24 ... Anode 26 ... Gas diffusion layer 28 ... Gas diffusion layer 30 ... Separator 31 ... Cathode Side plate 32 ... Anode side plate 33 ... Intermediate plate 60 ... Protrusion 90 ... Protective layer 91 ... Protective layer 100 ... Cell unit 1000 ... Fuel cell DA ... Power generation area TM1 ... End face TM2 ... End face TM3 ... End face TM4 ... End face

Claims (10)

A fuel cell,
An electrolyte membrane having an inner portion and a strength portion formed on an outer peripheral portion of the inner portion and having a strength higher than that of the inner portion;
A protective layer provided on the strength portion of the electrolyte membrane for protecting the electrolyte membrane;
A fuel cell comprising: The fuel cell according to claim 1, wherein
The protective layer is
A fuel cell, which is provided on the strength portion of the electrolyte membrane and closer to an end portion of the electrolyte membrane than a boundary portion between the strength portion and the inner portion. The fuel cell according to claim 1 or 2,
A fuel cell comprising a support portion provided on the protective layer. The fuel cell according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The strength portion of the electrolyte membrane is:
A fuel cell comprising a porous body impregnated with an electrolyte. The fuel cell according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein
The strength portion of the electrolyte membrane is:
A fuel cell characterized by being formed thicker than the inner portion. The fuel cell according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The strength portion of the electrolyte membrane is:
Made of hydrocarbon resin,
The inner part is
A fuel cell comprising a fluorine resin. The fuel cell according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An electrode provided on the inner part of the electrolyte membrane;
A gas diffusion layer provided on the electrode;
A fuel cell comprising: A fuel cell,
An electrolyte membrane having an inner portion and a strength portion formed on at least a part of the outer peripheral side of the inner portion and having a strength higher than that of the inner portion;
A protective layer provided on the strength portion of the electrolyte membrane for protecting the electrolyte membrane;
A fuel cell comprising: The fuel cell according to claim 8, wherein
The protective layer is
The fuel cell is provided on the strength portion of the electrolyte membrane so as not to contact a portion other than the strength portion. The fuel cell according to claim 8 or 9, wherein
The electrolyte membrane is
A fuel cell comprising an outer portion formed at least at a part on the outer peripheral side of the strength portion and having a strength lower than that of the strength portion.

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