JP2010153212A - Electrochemical device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a mechanical stress applied on a cell in stacking electrochemical ceramics cells, to increase the use efficiency of gas and to prevent output reduction caused by an increase in contact resistance between the cell and an inter-connector in operation. <P>SOLUTION: The electrochemical cell 10 includes: a first electrode which contains a gas flow passage along which a first gas flows and is in contact with the first gas; a solid electrolyte layer; a second electrode 15 exposed to a main surface of the cell and coming into contact with a second gas; and a conduction part 9 exposed to the main surface of the cell to electrically conduct with the first electrode. Each of the inter-connectors 11A, 11B has a containing part containing a portion of the cell and a connection part 14 projecting from the containing part. The respective cells 10 are contained in the containing parts of the plurality of inter-connectors 11A, 11B in two directions orthogonal to each other. A second gas flow passage 33 is formed between the containing part and the cell 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrochemical device such as a solid oxide fuel cell.

  Since the voltage per fuel cell is about 1V, multiple sheets must be stacked in order to obtain high output. Therefore, it becomes a problem how small the number of layers can be increased and a large output can be obtained.

In particular, in FIG. 14 of Patent Document 1, a fuel flow path is formed, for example, inside a fuel electrode of a ceramic electrochemical cell, and a solid electrolyte membrane and an air electrode membrane are formed on the fuel electrode. A gas supply hole and a gas discharge hole are provided in the cell itself, and a plurality of cells are directly stacked to form a stack. In forming the stack, the gas supply passages are formed by connecting the gas supply holes of adjacent cells, and the gas discharge passages are formed by connecting the gas discharge holes of the cells.
WO 2007/029860 A1

  In a stack (collective battery) as described in Patent Document 1, cells having gas flow paths inside are attached to a fixing member, and these are stacked. However, since the cell in this structure also has a role as a structural member, stress is easily applied. In particular, since a cell having a gas flow path has a lower structural strength than a cell having no gas flow path, a structure in which no stress is applied to the cell is desirable.

The present applicant disclosed in Patent Document 2 that a fuel gas flow path is formed inside an electrochemical cell, and a plurality of electrochemical cells are supported by a gas supply member and a gas discharge member in a state of being separated from each other. .
PCT JP2008 / 056636

  However, in this case, the flow rate of air flowing outside the cell is large, the amount of air available for power generation on the surface of the cell is small, and the utilization efficiency is low. Further, although the adjacent cells are made conductive by the conductive gas supply member or the discharge member, the current flowing distance tends to be long, and the current loss tends to increase from this point.

Further, the present applicant disclosed in Patent Document 3 that each flow path built-in cell is accommodated in an interconnector, and a plurality of interconnectors are stacked in this state to form a stack. A conductive part is formed on the surface of each cell, and the conductive part of each cell is electrically connected in series to the adjacent interconnector.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-324508

  In this type of electrochemical device, it is necessary to make electrical contact between the interconnector and the electrode on the cell surface accommodated therein, and at this time, it is necessary to minimize contact resistance. However, when the temperature is raised during operation after assembling the electrochemical device stack, the electrical contact resistance between the cell and the interconnector increases and the overall output may decrease.

  The object of the present invention is to reduce the mechanical stress applied to the cell when stacking the electrochemical cell made of ceramic, improve the utilization efficiency of the gas, and contact resistance between the cell and the interconnector during operation. This is to prevent a decrease in output due to an increase in.

The present invention is an electrochemical device comprising a plurality of ceramic electrochemical cells and a plurality of interconnectors,
The electrochemical cell has a built-in gas flow path through which the first gas flows, and is in contact with the first gas, the solid electrolyte layer, and the second gas exposed on the main surface of the cell. A second electrode, and a conductive portion that is exposed to the main surface of the cell and electrically connected to the first electrode,
The interconnector includes an accommodating portion that accommodates a part of the cell, and a connecting portion that protrudes from the accommodating portion,
Each cell is accommodated in a plurality of interconnector accommodating portions in two directions orthogonal to each other, and a second gas flow path is formed between the accommodating portion and the cell. The gas contacts with the second electrode while passing through the flow path, and the connection portion is electrically connected to the conductive portion of the adjacent cell.

  In the present invention, the first gas flow path is formed in the electrochemical cell, and a part of the electrochemical cell is accommodated by the interconnector, and the second gas flow path is provided between the interconnector and the cell. Form. The second gas contacts the second electrode while passing through this flow path, and contributes to the electrochemical reaction. Accordingly, since the cells are accommodated in the interconnector to form the second gas flow path, the second gas flow path can be formed as a narrow flow path, and the utilization efficiency of the second gas is improved. be able to.

  At the same time, a connection portion is provided in the interconnector, and the connection portion of the interconnector that accommodates a certain cell is electrically connected to the conductive portion of the adjacent cell. As a result, the adjacent cells are connected to the adjacent cells via the connection portions extending from the interconnector housing portions. With this structure, the compressive stress applied to the entire stack is received by each accommodating portion of each interconnector, and the stress is dispersed at each connecting portion. Therefore, damage due to excessive stress applied to the cell can be prevented.

  Further, each cell is accommodated in a plurality of interconnector accommodating portions when viewed in two directions orthogonal to each other. It has been found that this can prevent an increase in contact resistance between the cell and the interconnector due to a temperature rise during operation.

  That is, the present inventor examined the cause of the increase in the contact resistance between the cell and the interconnector due to the temperature increase during operation, and obtained the following knowledge. That is, as schematically shown in FIG. 12, during operation, the cell 10 and the interconnector 30A thermally expand as indicated by arrows J and H, respectively. At this time, the thermal expansion of the interconnector is larger than the thermal expansion of the cell. As a result, as shown in K, the contact between the cell 10 and the interconnector 30A is displaced in a plane, and the contact is lost depending on the location. Is called. It has been discovered that this is responsible for the increased contact resistance between the cell and the interconnector.

  Based on this discovery, the present inventor has adopted a structure in which a cell is accommodated by a plurality of interconnectors when viewed in two orthogonal directions. In other words, the interconnector is divided into a plurality of parts both vertically and horizontally when viewed in plan. Thus, as schematically shown in FIG. 9, it was confirmed that the deviation between the thermal expansion J and H between the cell and the interconnector was reduced, and the contact between the two could be prevented from being broken or lost. As a result, it has been found that an increase in contact resistance between the cell and the interconnector due to a temperature rise during operation can be prevented, and the present invention has been achieved.

  In the present invention, the electrochemical cell is preferably plate-shaped. However, it is not limited to a flat plate shape, and may be a curved plate or a circular arc plate. The electrochemical cell includes a first electrode that contacts the first gas, a solid electrolyte membrane, a second electrode that contacts the second gas, and a conductive portion connected to the first electrode.

  Here, the first electrode and the second electrode are selected from an anode or a cathode. When one of these is an anode, the other is a cathode. Similarly, the first gas and the second gas are selected from oxidizing gas and reducing gas.

The oxidizing gas is not particularly limited as long as it is a gas that can supply oxygen ions to the solid electrolyte membrane, and examples thereof include air, diluted air, oxygen, and diluted oxygen. Examples of the reducing gas include H ₂ , CO, CH ₄ and a mixed gas thereof.

The electrochemical cell targeted by the present invention means a general cell for causing an electrochemical reaction. For example, the electrochemical cell can be used as an oxygen pump or a high temperature steam electrolysis cell. The high-temperature steam electrolysis cell can be used for a hydrogen production apparatus and a steam removal apparatus. Moreover, an electrochemical cell can be used as a decomposition cell for NOx and SOx. This decomposition cell can be used as a purification device for exhaust gas from automobiles and power generation devices. In this case, oxygen in the exhaust gas is removed through the solid electrolyte membrane, and NOx is electrolyzed and decomposed into N ₂ and O ₂ ^−, and oxygen generated by this decomposition can also be removed. Moreover, with this process, water vapor in the exhaust gas is electrolysis produced hydrogen and oxygen, the hydrogen reduces NOx into N _2. In a preferred embodiment, the electrochemical cell is a solid oxide fuel cell.

  The material of the solid electrolyte is not particularly limited, and any oxygen ion conductor can be used. For example, it may be yttria stabilized zirconia or yttria partially stabilized zirconia, and in the case of a NOx decomposition cell, cerium oxide is also preferable.

  The material of the cathode is preferably a perovskite complex oxide containing lanthanum, more preferably lanthanum manganite or lanthanum cobaltite, and even more preferably lanthanum manganite. Lanthanum cobaltite and lanthanum manganite may be doped with strontium, calcium, chromium, cobalt (in the case of lanthanum manganite), iron, nickel, aluminum or the like.

  As a material for the anode, nickel-magnesia spinel, nickel-nickel alumina spinel, nickel-zirconia, platinum-cerium oxide, ruthenium-zirconia and the like are preferable.

  The form of each electrochemical cell is not particularly limited. The electrochemical cell may consist of three layers: an anode, a cathode and a solid electrolyte layer. Alternatively, the electrochemical cell may have, for example, a porous body layer in addition to the anode, the cathode, and the solid electrolyte layer.

  In the present invention, a gas flow path for flowing the first gas is provided in the electrochemical cell. The form, number and location of the gas flow path are not particularly limited.

  In a preferred embodiment, adjacent electrochemical cells are connected by a coupling member having a through hole.

  In this embodiment, the first through hole and the second through hole communicating with the first gas flow path can be formed in the cell. The form, number and location of each through hole are not particularly limited.

  In the present invention, the method for connecting the binding member and the electrochemical cell is not particularly limited. For this connection, for example, an adhesive made of glass or ceramics, or a mechanical bonding method can be used. Further, the method for hermetically sealing the connecting member and the electrochemical cell is not particularly limited, but it is preferable to use a sealing material. The material of such a seal member is not particularly limited, but it needs to have oxidation resistance and reduction resistance at the operating temperature of the electrochemical cell. Specifically, glass mainly composed of silica, crystallized glass, metal brazing and the like can be exemplified. Also, compression seals such as O-rings, C-rings, E-rings, metal jacket gaskets, and mica gaskets can be exemplified.

  When the connecting member is a tubular body or an annular body, the specific form of the tubular portion is not limited. The cross-sectional shape of the tubular portion may be, for example, a polygon such as a perfect circle, an ellipse, a triangle, a quadrangle, or a hexagon.

  In a preferred embodiment, a plurality of conductive portions that are electrically connected to the first electrode are provided and are respectively positioned on the outer edge portions of the cell main surface. And each connection part is electrically connected with respect to each electroconductive part of an adjacent cell. Thereby, the deviation between the conduction distance on the principal surface on the connection part side of the cell and the conduction distance on the cell principal surface on the side without the connection part becomes small, and the deviation of the internal resistance on both principal faces becomes small. As a result, the power density is improved as a whole, and a decrease in cell durability due to a deviation in power density between both main surfaces can be prevented.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an electrochemical cell 10 usable in the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an electrochemical cell 1 usable in the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the cell 1 of FIG. 2 in an exploded manner.

  In both the cell of FIG. 1 and the cell of FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 3, a gas flow path 7 for flowing a first gas is formed inside the first electrode 16 of the cell. The first electrode 16 has a flat plate shape, and the solid electrolyte layer 6 is provided so as to cover the first electrode 16.

  On the main surfaces 10a and 10b on both sides of the cell 10 of FIG. 1 (see FIG. 8), the second electrode 15 is formed, and the second electrode 15 is exposed. 2nd electrode 2A, 2B is formed in the main surface of the both sides of the cell 1 of FIG. 2, respectively, and is exposed.

  The cells 1 and 10 are formed with a first through hole 3 and a second through hole 4 at predetermined locations, respectively. As shown in FIG. 3, the first gas that has flowed into the cell from the through hole 3 flows through the gas flow path 7 as indicated by arrows A, B, and C, and is discharged from the second through hole 4. The first gas contributes to the electrochemical reaction while flowing through the flow path 7.

  In the example of FIG. 2, the conductive portion 5 that is electrically connected to the first electrode 16 inside the cell is exposed at the center of the cell 1. In the example of FIG. 1, conductive portions 9 are provided, for example, at four locations on the outer peripheral edge portion of the main surface of the cell 10. As will be described later, through-holes 12 corresponding to the conductive portions are formed in the interconnector (see FIG. 4), and through the through-holes 12, the conductive portions 9 correspond to the corresponding connection portions 14 respectively. Is electrically connected.

  In the embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of conductive portions 9 are provided on the outer edge portion of the cell main surface 10a. Here, the cell main surface refers to a surface having a large area in the cell, and is usually two opposing surfaces. The outer edge portion of the main surface refers to a region within 10 mm from the outer edge of the main surface. The conductive portion of the present invention does not need to be entirely included in the outer edge portion, and only part of the conductive portion may be included in the outer edge portion.

  In this embodiment, the number of conductive parts for each cell is preferably 2 or more, preferably 3 or more, and more preferably 4 or more. There is no particular upper limit on the number of conductive parts, but eight or less are practical.

  The interconnector of the present invention includes a housing portion that houses a part of the electrochemical cell and a connection portion that protrudes from the housing portion. The accommodating part can be inserted from the outside of the cell, sandwiches the cell from both sides thereof, and forms a second gas flow path between the cell and the accommodating part. Further, a through hole is formed in the accommodating portion at a position corresponding to the conductive portion of the cell.

  The interconnector material must be conductive and must be durable to the second gas at the cell operating temperature. Specifically, it may be a pure metal or an alloy, but nickel-based alloys such as nickel, inconel and nichrome, iron-based alloys such as stainless steel, and cobalt-based alloys such as stellite are preferable.

  The connecting portion is preferably elastically deformable, and is particularly preferably formed from a metal plate. Examples of the metal material include the above-described interconnector materials.

  FIG. 4B is a plan view of the four interconnectors 11A to 11D according to the embodiment. FIG. 4A is a side view of the interconnectors 11A and 11C as viewed from the arrow IVa side. FIG. 4C is a side view of the interconnectors 11C and 11D viewed from the arrow IVc side.

  In this example, an interconnector that should accommodate a cell is divided into four cells for one cell. That is, a plurality of interconnectors are respectively provided in two directions X and Y orthogonal to each other on the main surface of the cell. Specifically, two interconnectors 11A and 11C or 11B and 11D are provided in the direction X, and two interconnectors 11A and 11B or 11C and 11D are provided in the direction Y. .

  Each interconnector includes a receiving portion 31, and each receiving portion 31 includes an upper plate 11 a and a lower plate 11 b. A space 13 is formed between the upper plate 11a and the lower plate 11b. The connecting portion 14 protrudes from the lower plate 11b. In this example, the connection portion 14 is a combination of a plurality of elongated flat plates. Such a connecting portion 14 is formed by processing a metal flat plate.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG.4 (b), the through-hole 12 is formed in the upper side board 11a in the position corresponding to an electroconductive part. In this example, one through-hole 12 is formed in one interconnector, and one cell is accommodated in four interconnectors. Accordingly, the four conductive portions of each cell can be aligned with the respective through holes 12.

  A plurality of cells are stacked to form a stack, and the interconnectors 11A to 11D as described above are placed on each cell 10 and fixed. That is, when stacking a plurality of cells 10, the connecting members 18 shown in FIG. 5 are interposed between the adjacent cells 10 as indicated by the arrow D, thereby connecting the through holes 3 and 4 of the adjacent cells. To do. Each connecting member 18 is formed with a through hole 18a. Each through hole 18a and each through hole 3 communicate with each other to form a gas supply path. Moreover, a gas exhaust path is formed when each through-hole 18a and each through-hole 4 are connected.

The material of the connecting member is not particularly limited as long as the mechanical strength is higher than that of the ceramic constituting the cell, but the material having a difference in thermal expansion coefficient from the cell of 2 × 10 ⁻⁶ (/ K), for example, zirconia, magnesia, spinel Examples thereof include ceramics and a composite material of these. Further, it may be a metal as long as it has oxidation resistance and reduction resistance at the operating temperature of the electrochemical cell, and may be a pure metal or an alloy, such as nickel, inconel, nichrome, etc. Nickel-based alloys, iron-based alloys such as stainless steel, and cobalt-based alloys such as stellite are preferred.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6, each accommodating part of four interconnectors 11A-11D is inserted from the side and fixed so that each electrode 15 of each cell 10 may be covered. In this state, two interconnectors 11A and 11C or 11B and 11D are provided in the direction X, and two interconnectors 11A and 11B or 11C and 11D are provided in the direction Y.

  When the stack is formed as shown in FIG. 7, the conductive portion 9 of the uppermost cell 10 and the connection portion 14 of the interconnector of the lowermost cell 10 are connected. Thereby, a plurality of cells are connected in series. The first gas flows as indicated by arrows E and F, and the second gas is supplied from the side of the stack as indicated by arrow G.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 8, a second gas flow path 33 is formed between each of the interconnectors 11 </ b> A to 11 </ b> D and the opposing electrode 15. In the gas flow path 33, the cell electrode 15 and the interconnector are electrically connected. Further, the interconnector connection portion 14 and the conductive portion 9 of the adjacent cell are joined by a conductive paste 23.

  The method of electrical connection between the electrode 15 and the interconnector is not particularly limited, and a normal method can be used. For example, the cell electrode and the interconnector can be electrically connected by disposing a gas-permeable conductive connection member such as felt or mesh in the flow path 33. However, preferably, the conductive protrusion 20 is provided on the interconnector, and the tip of the conductive protrusion 20 can be brought into contact with the cell electrode 15 via the conductive agent 22.

  Here, in this invention, each cell is accommodated in the accommodating part of a some interconnector toward the two directions X and Y which mutually orthogonally cross, respectively. Thereby, it is possible to prevent an increase in contact resistance between the cell and the interconnector due to a temperature rise during operation.

  On the other hand, in the form as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, there are two interconnectors 30 </ b> A and 30 </ b> B in the direction Y, but when looking in the direction X, there is only one interconnector. Here, at normal temperature, it is assumed that the interconnector and the cell are electrically connected through the conductive protrusion 20 and the bonding agent 22 as shown in FIG.

  However, since the temperature rises during operation, the cell 10 and the interconnector 30A thermally expand as indicated by arrows J and H, respectively, as schematically shown in FIG. At this time, the thermal expansion H of the interconnector is larger than the thermal expansion J of the cell, and as a result, as shown in K, the contact point between the conductive protrusion 20 and the bonding agent 22 is displaced in a plane and contacted. Is lost. It has been discovered that this is responsible for the increased contact resistance between the cell and the interconnector.

  On the other hand, in the present invention, during operation, the deviation between the thermal expansion J and H between the cell and the interconnector is small (see FIG. 9). Therefore, the contact between the cell and the interconnector can be prevented from being damaged or lost. As a result, an increase in contact resistance between the cell and the interconnector due to a temperature rise during operation can be prevented.

(Example)
A solid oxide fuel cell (cell) having a fuel electrode as a substrate was produced (see FIGS. 1, 3 and 5).
(Fabrication of fuel electrode substrate)
Nickel oxide powder and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) were mixed to obtain a fuel electrode substrate powder. This powder was press-molded to produce two fuel electrode substrate compacts.

(Installation of flow path forming member and integration with fuel electrode substrate + electrolyte membrane formation)
The flow path forming member was sandwiched between the fuel electrode substrate molded bodies and integrated by pressing. As the electrolyte, a slurry obtained by adding a binder to YSZ powder is applied to the fuel electrode substrate compact, dried, and then fired in an electric furnace at 1400 ° C. for 2 hours to obtain a solid electrolyte 6 / fuel electrode support substrate 16. It was.

(Formation of air electrode and conductive plate)
A paste was prepared by adding a binder and a solvent to LaMnO ₃ powder. The paste was screen-printed on the two main surfaces of the substrate, dried, and then fired in an electric furnace at 1200 ° C. for 1 hour to form an air electrode 15. Further, a part of the electrolyte 6 is peeled off, the fuel electrode substrate 16 is exposed on the surface, and a lanthanum chromite 0.3 mm thick conductive plate 9 which is separately manufactured is attached to the exposed portion with a conductive paste. The periphery of the plate was fixed with a sealing material.
Fuel supply holes and discharge holes were formed in the sintered body thus obtained by machining to obtain a power generation cell. The produced cell had a length of 55 mm, a width of 100 mm, and a thickness of 3 mm.

(Production of metal interconnector)
A plate of material SUS430 was processed into the shape of FIG. 4 to produce interconnectors 11A to 11D. The dimensions of each interconnector are 60 mm long, 55 mm wide, and 0.3 mm thick.

(Stack production)
A 20-stage stack consisting of cells and metal interconnectors was fabricated.
(Bonding of cell and ceramic connecting parts)
A ceramic connecting part 18 having an outer diameter of 24 mm, an inner diameter of 9 mm, and a thickness of 2 mm is attached to the fuel supply hole 3 and the discharge hole 4 of the cell produced above using a glass paste that is softened at 1000 ° C. Joined by heating in air at 1000 ° C. for 1 hour.

(Attaching the metal interconnector)
A conductive paste was applied to the protrusions 14 of the metal interconnectors 11A to 11D produced above, and fitted in four directions of each of the 20 stacked layers (see FIGS. 7 and 8).

(Comparative example)
For comparison, a plate of material SUS430 was produced as shown in FIG. 10 having a length of 60 mm, a width of 110 mm, and a thickness of 0.3 mm, thereby producing metal interconnectors 30A and 30B. A conductive paste was applied to the protrusions in the interconnector and the protrusions of the metal interconnector, and inserted from two directions of each of the 20-layered cells.

(Power generation performance evaluation)
In order to evaluate the performance, the stack was set in an electric furnace, and a voltage line and a current line were connected to the conductive portion 9 of the uppermost cell and the connection portion 14 of the lowermost interconnector, respectively. The temperature was raised to 800 ° C. while N ₂ was supplied to the fuel electrode side and Air was supplied to the air electrode side. When the temperature reached 800 ° C., H ₂ was supplied to the fuel electrode side for reduction treatment. After the reduction treatment for 3 hours, the current-voltage characteristics of the stack were evaluated.

  Table 1 shows the power generation characteristics at 800 ° C. The power generation output shows the output per unit volume of the stack and the output per cell.

  In the present invention, the ohmic resistance was reduced as compared with the comparative example, and the output per unit volume was significantly improved to 348 W / L or more. In the present invention, since the metal interconnector is divided into four parts, the influence of distortion due to the difference in thermal expansion between the cell and the metal interconnector can be reduced. This is probably because all the points were well connected without coming off after warming.

  In this way, the present invention reduces the distortion due to the difference in thermal expansion between the cell and the metal interconnector by dividing the metal interconnector into four parts, and the protrusions are processed in the metal interconnector even after the temperature is raised to 800 ° C. Is a shape that can be connected at all points.

  In addition, by changing the number of divisions of the metal interconnector, it is possible to obtain all contact points regardless of the thermal expansion difference between the cell and the metal.

1 is a perspective view of an electrochemical cell 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the cell 1 which concerns on other embodiment. It is a disassembled perspective view of the cell 1 of FIG. (A) is the side view which looked at the interconnectors 11A and 11C from the arrow IVa side, (b) is the top view which shows the interconnectors 11A-11D, (c) is the interconnectors 11C and 11D. It is the side view seen from the arrow IVc side. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a coupling member 18 is fitted in a cell 10. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which interconnectors 11A to 11D are fitted in a cell 10. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows typically the state which has laminated | stacked the cell of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the state after preparation of the stack | stuck of FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing thermal expansion when the stack of FIG. 8 is operated. It is a perspective view which shows the stack of the comparative example obtained by laminating | stacking a cell. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the state after preparation of the stack | stuck of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows thermal expansion when the stack of FIG. 10 is operated.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 10 Electrochemical cell 2A, 2B, 15 2nd electrode 3 Gas supply port 4 Gas discharge port 6 Solid electrolyte 7 Flow path of 1st gas 9 Conductive part 10a, 10b Cell main surface 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D interconnector 12 through hole 14 connecting portion 18 coupling member 33 second gas flow path A, B, C, E, F first gas flow G second gas flow H thermal expansion of interconnector J cell X, Y Two directions perpendicular to each other on the main surface of the cell

Claims (6)

An electrochemical device comprising a plurality of ceramic electrochemical cells and a plurality of interconnectors,
The electrochemical cell incorporates a gas flow path for flowing a first gas, and is exposed to the first electrode in contact with the first gas, the solid electrolyte layer, and the main surface of the electrochemical cell. A second electrode that comes into contact with a second gas, and a conductive portion that is exposed to the main surface of the electrochemical cell and is electrically connected to the first electrode,
The interconnector includes a housing portion that houses a part of the electrochemical cell, and a connection portion that protrudes from the housing portion,
Each of the electrochemical cells is housed in the housing portion of the plurality of interconnectors in two directions orthogonal to each other on the main surface, and the electrochemical cell is disposed between the housing portion and the electrochemical cell. An electrochemical device, wherein a flow path for a second gas is formed, and the connecting portion is electrically connected to the conductive portion of the adjacent electrochemical cell.   A plurality of conductive portions are provided on an outer edge portion of the main surface of the electrochemical cell, and the connection portion is electrically connected to the conductive portion of the adjacent electrochemical cell. The electrochemical device according to claim 1.   The through hole is provided at a position corresponding to each conductive portion of the housing portion, and the conductive portion and the connection portion are electrically connected through the through hole. The electrochemical device according to 1 or 2.   The electrochemical device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the connection portion is a protrusion protruding toward the adjacent electrochemical cell.   The electrochemical device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the connection portion and the conductive portion are connected by a conductive paste.   The electrochemical device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the adjacent electrochemical cells are connected by a coupling member having a through hole.

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