JP5461361B2 - Manufacturing method of electrolyte membrane / electrode structure for fuel cell - Google Patents

Description

The present invention provides an electrode catalyst layer on both sides of a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, a diffusion layer is laminated on the electrode catalyst layer, and an outer peripheral end surface of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane is an outer periphery of at least one of the diffusion layers. The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure for a fuel cell protruding outward from an end face.

  In general, a polymer electrolyte fuel cell employs a polymer electrolyte membrane made of a polymer ion exchange membrane. This fuel cell has an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure in which an anode side electrode and a cathode side electrode each comprising a catalyst layer (electrode catalyst layer) and a gas diffusion layer (porous carbon) are disposed on both sides of a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, respectively. The body (MEA) is sandwiched between separators (bipolar plates). Usually, a fuel cell stack in which a predetermined number of the fuel cells are stacked is used for in-vehicle use, for example.

  In this type of electrolyte membrane / electrode structure, the surface area of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane is configured to be larger than the surface area of the gas diffusion layer laminated on both sides of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, The membrane protruding MEA in which the outer peripheral end surface of the gas diffusion layer protrudes outward from the outer peripheral end surface of each gas diffusion layer, or one gas diffusion layer is set to have a smaller surface area than the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, and the other gas diffusion layer is In some cases, a so-called stepped MEA having the same surface area as that of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane is formed.

  For this reason, when manufacturing the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure, it is necessary to position and bond the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and the gas diffusion layer having different dimensions to each other. Therefore, the manufacturing work of the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure is complicated.

  Therefore, for example, a manufacturing method disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. In this manufacturing method, as shown in FIG. 17, holes 2a for inserting the guide pins 1a are formed at the four corners on the upper surface of the flat plate-like first jig 1 provided with the positioning guide pins 1a at the four corners. A first frame 2 provided with an opening 2b for arranging a gas diffusion layer with a catalyst layer in the center is provided. A first electrode 3, which is a gas diffusion layer with an air electrode catalyst, is disposed in the opening 2 b of the first frame 2.

  Then, after the electrolyte membrane 4 is disposed to extend from the upper surface of the first electrode 3 to the upper surface of the first frame 2, the second electrode 5 connects the second frame 6 to the electrolyte membrane 4. It is arranged. The second frame 6 has holes 6a into which the guide pins 1a are inserted at the four corners, and an opening 6b in which the second electrode 5 is disposed at the center.

  Further, a second jig 7 is laminated on the second frame 6, and guide pins 1 a are inserted into holes 7 a provided at the four corners of the second jig 7. After the first electrode 3, the electrolyte membrane 4 and the second electrode 5 are sandwiched between the first jig 1 and the second jig 7, they are integrally joined by hot pressing.

JP 2004-303627 A

  In said patent document 1, the 1st electrode 3 and the 2nd electrode 5 are respectively arrange | positioned via the four guide pins 1a with respect to the 1st jig | tool 1 and the 2nd frame body. 6 is positioned. For this reason, in practice, the operation of inserting the guide pins 1a into the four holes 2a of the first frame 2 and placing the first frame 2 on the first jig 1, and the second frame 6 It is necessary to insert each guide pin 1a into the four holes 6a and place the second frame 6 on the electrolyte membrane 4.

  Therefore, there is a problem that the attaching and detaching work of the first and second frame bodies 2 and 6 is considerably complicated. As a result, a considerable amount of time is required for the production work of the MEA, and there is a problem that the efficient production work is not performed.

The present invention solves this type of problem, and allows a solid polymer electrolyte membrane and a diffusion layer having different sizes to be positioned with high accuracy by a simple configuration and process, and a high-quality electrolyte. It aims at providing the manufacturing method of the electrolyte membrane and electrode structure for fuel cells which can manufacture a membrane and electrode structure efficiently.

In the present invention, an electrode catalyst layer is provided on both sides of a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, a pair of diffusion layers are laminated outside the electrode catalyst layer, and an outer peripheral end surface of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane is at least one of the above The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure for a fuel cell that protrudes outward from the outer peripheral end face of a diffusion layer.

  In this electrolyte membrane / electrode structure, after at least one diffusion layer and the solid polymer electrolyte membrane are integrated by hot pressing, an outer peripheral edge portion is provided in advance on the outer peripheral end face of at least one of the diffusion layers. The separation surface is formed by being cut off from the separated portion.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the isolation | separation site | part has the notch shape provided in the at least one diffusion layer intermittently or continuously.

Further, this manufacturing method includes a step of sandwiching a solid polymer electrolyte membrane between a pair of diffusion layers to obtain a laminate, and hot pressing the laminate to thereby form the pair of diffusions with the solid polymer electrolyte membrane. After the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and the pair of diffusion layers are integrated by the hot press, the outer peripheral edge of at least one of the diffusion layers is integrated with at least one of the diffusion layers. And separating along a separation site provided in advance in the layer.

Furthermore, in this manufacturing method, a solid polymer electrolyte membrane is sandwiched between a pair of diffusion layers to obtain a laminate, and a plurality of the laminates are simultaneously heated by interposing a sheet member between the laminates. The step of integrating the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and the pair of diffusion layers constituting each laminate by pressing, and the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and the pair of diffusion layers are integrated by the hot press. And the step of separating the outer peripheral edge of at least one of the diffusion layers along a separation site provided in advance in at least one of the diffusion layers.

  The diffusion layer is preferably provided with a base layer bonded to the electrode catalyst layer.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the positioning portion has a hole formed in the outer peripheral edge of the diffusion layer, and a positioning pin is inserted into the hole to position the diffusion layer.

  According to the present invention, the dimension of the diffusion layer is set in advance to be larger than the product dimension, and the outer peripheral edge or outer peripheral end face of the diffusion layer is set as the positioning part, so that the positioning part is used as a reference. Thus, the diffusion layer can be positioned. Next, after the diffusion layer is integrated with the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, the outer peripheral edge portion including the positioning portion of the diffusion layer is separated along a separation portion provided in advance in the diffusion layer, thereby obtaining a desired dimension. A diffusion layer having

  For this reason, in order to position a diffused layer, it is not necessary to use a special frame member (positioning member), and the handling operation of the said frame member becomes unnecessary. Accordingly, the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and the diffusion layer having different sizes can be positioned with high accuracy by a simple configuration and process, and a high-quality electrolyte membrane / electrode structure is reliably and rapidly manufactured. It becomes possible.

  Further, a plurality of laminated bodies are hot-pressed simultaneously with a sheet member interposed between the laminated bodies. Thereby, a plurality of electrolyte membrane / electrode structures can be efficiently manufactured, and the manufacturing time of the electrolyte membrane / electrode structures can be favorably shortened.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an essential part of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell in which an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention is incorporated. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the fuel cell taken along line II-II in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional explanatory view of the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure. It is a perspective view explaining the manufacturing process of the said electrolyte membrane and electrode structure. It is a perspective view explaining the manufacturing process of the said electrolyte membrane and electrode structure. It is a perspective view explaining the manufacturing process of the said electrolyte membrane and electrode structure. It is a perspective view explaining the manufacturing process of the said electrolyte membrane and electrode structure. It is a perspective view explaining the manufacturing process of the said electrolyte membrane and electrode structure. It is explanatory drawing at the time of hot-pressing a laminated body. It is a perspective view explaining the manufacturing process of the said electrolyte membrane and electrode structure. It is a perspective view explaining the manufacturing process of the said electrolyte membrane and electrode structure. It is principal part explanatory drawing of the manufacturing method of the electrolyte membrane and electrode structure which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a partial cross section explanatory view of the electrolyte membrane electrode structure concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the anode side carbon paper and 1st jig | tool explaining another positioning part. It is a perspective view of the anode side carbon paper explaining another separation part. FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the anode side carbon paper taken along line XVI-XVI in FIG. 15. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a method for manufacturing an MEA disclosed in Patent Document 1. FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the polymer electrolyte fuel cell 12 incorporating the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention sandwiches the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10. First and second separators 14 and 16 are provided. The first and second separators 14 and 16 are made of, for example, a steel plate, a stainless steel plate, an aluminum plate, a plated steel plate, a metal plate whose surface is subjected to anticorrosion treatment, a carbon member, or the like. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10 includes, for example, a solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18 in which a perfluorosulfonic acid thin film is impregnated with water, and an anode side sandwiching the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18. The electrode 20 and the cathode side electrode 22 are provided.

  The anode side electrode 20 has a smaller surface area than the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18 and the cathode side electrode 22. The anode side electrode 20 and the cathode side electrode 22 may have the same surface area, and the cathode side electrode 22 may have a smaller surface area than the anode side electrode 20.

  The anode electrode 20 is disposed on one surface 18a of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18 and exposes the outer periphery of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18 in a frame shape. The cathode side electrode 22 is disposed on the other surface 18 b of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18 in the same manner as the anode side electrode 20 described above.

  The anode side electrode 20 and the cathode side electrode 22 have electrode catalyst layers 24a and 24b joined to both surfaces 18a and 18b of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18, and base layers 26a and 26b are formed on the electrode catalyst layers 24a and 24b. Gas diffusion layers 28a and 28b stacked therethrough are provided.

  The electrode catalyst layers 24a and 24b are formed by forming catalyst particles in which platinum particles are supported on carbon black, using a polymer electrolyte as an ion conductive binder, and uniformly mixing the catalyst particles in a solution of the polymer electrolyte. The catalyst paste produced in this way is configured by printing, coating or transferring on both sides of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18. As the polymer electrolyte, for example, Nafion manufactured by DuPont is used.

  Underlayers 26a and 26b are made of carbon black, FEP (tetrafluoroethylene-hexafluoropropylene copolymer) particles, and carbon nanotubes in a paste form, and then applied to gas diffusion layers 28a and 28b. The gas diffusion layers 28a and 28b are made of carbon paper or the like.

  The plane of the gas diffusion layer 28b is set larger than the plane of the gas diffusion layer 28a, and the gas diffusion layer 28b protrudes from the outer peripheral end surfaces of the electrode catalyst layer 24b and the base layer 26b. The entire other surface 18b is covered. As will be described later, a separation surface 52a is formed on the outer peripheral end face of the gas diffusion layer 28a after being integrated with the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18 by hot pressing and then the outer peripheral edge 50a is cut off.

  As shown in FIG. 1, one end edge of the fuel cell 12 in the arrow B direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 1) communicates with each other in the arrow A direction, which is the stacking direction, and contains an oxidant gas, for example, oxygen An oxidant gas inlet communication hole 30a for supplying gas, a cooling medium inlet communication hole 32a for supplying a cooling medium, and a fuel gas outlet communication hole 34b for discharging a fuel gas, for example, a hydrogen-containing gas, Arranged in the direction of arrow C (vertical direction).

  The other end edge of the fuel cell 12 in the direction of arrow B communicates with each other in the direction of arrow A, a fuel gas inlet communication hole 34a for supplying fuel gas, and a cooling medium outlet communication hole for discharging the cooling medium. 32b and an oxidant gas outlet communication hole 30b for discharging the oxidant gas are arranged in the direction of arrow C.

  An oxidant gas flow path 36 that communicates with the oxidant gas inlet communication hole 30a and the oxidant gas outlet communication hole 30b is provided on the surface 16a of the second separator 16 facing the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10.

  A fuel gas flow path 38 communicating with the fuel gas inlet communication hole 34 a and the fuel gas outlet communication hole 34 b is formed on the surface 14 a of the first separator 14 facing the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10. Between the surface 14 b of the first separator 14 and the surface 16 b of the second separator 16, a cooling medium flow path 40 communicating with the cooling medium inlet communication hole 32 a and the cooling medium outlet communication hole 32 b is formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first seal member 42 is integrated with the surfaces 14 a and 14 b of the first separator 14 around the outer peripheral end of the first separator 14, and the second The second seal member 44 is integrated with the surfaces 16 a and 16 b of the separator 16 around the outer peripheral end of the second separator 16.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first seal member 42 includes a first convex seal 42 a that contacts the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18 exposed to the outside of the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10, the first separator 14, and the second seal member 42. A second convex seal 42b interposed between the separator 16 and the separator 16; The second seal member 44 constitutes a flat seal. Instead of the second convex seal 42b, the second seal member 44 may be provided with a convex seal (not shown).

  The first and second sealing members 42 and 44 include, for example, EPDM, NBR, fluorine rubber, silicone rubber, fluorosilicone rubber, butyl rubber, natural rubber, styrene rubber, chloroprene or acrylic rubber, a cushioning material, Alternatively, a packing material is used.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first separator 14 has a supply hole portion 46 that communicates the fuel gas inlet communication hole 34a with the fuel gas passage 38, and the fuel gas passage 38 communicates with the fuel gas outlet communication hole 34b. A discharge hole 48 is formed.

  A method of manufacturing the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10 in the fuel cell 12 configured as described above will be described below.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4, anode-side carbon paper 50 is prepared. The anode-side carbon paper 50 constitutes the gas diffusion layer 28a, and is formed to have an outer diameter dimension substantially the same as the outer diameter dimension of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18 before trimming, for example. The anode side carbon paper 50 is coated with a base layer 26a made of a mixture of a water repellent and carbon particles in the region of the electrode catalyst layer 24a.

  The anode-side carbon paper 50 is provided with a separation portion 52 along the outer diameter of the gas diffusion layer 28a, and a plurality of, for example, two positioning holes (positioning) corresponding to the external region of the gas diffusion layer 28a. Part) 54a, 54b. The separation part 52 has, for example, a perforation formed by intermittently cutting out in the thickness direction of the anode-side carbon paper 50. As will be described later, any configuration can be used as long as it can separate the outer peripheral edge portion 50a from the separation portion 52 after the hot pressing process.

  The anode-side carbon paper 50 is positioned and held on the first jig 56. The first jig 56 is provided with positioning pins 58a and 58b to be inserted into the holes 54a and 54b. The first jig 56 includes an adsorbing means (not shown) for adsorbing the anode-side carbon paper 50 by suction or electrostatic force.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, a PEM unit 60 in which the electrode catalyst layers 24 a and 24 b are applied to both surfaces 18 a and 18 b of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18 is prepared, and this PEM unit 60 is arranged on a positioning table 62. Is done. On the positioning table 62, the positioning operation of the PEM unit 60 is performed by image processing using a camera or the like, for example.

  Then, the positioned PEM unit 60 is received by the first jig 56 from the positioning table 62. For this reason, the PEM unit 60 is adsorbed and held on the anode-side carbon paper 50 adsorbed and held by the first jig 56.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 6, the cathode side carbon paper 64 is prepared. The cathode-side carbon paper 64 is provided with a base layer 26b made of a mixture of a water repellent and carbon particles over a region corresponding to the electrode catalyst layer 24b at the center. Positioning holes 66a and 66b are formed in the outer peripheral edge 64a of the cathode-side carbon paper 64, and the holes 66a and 66b are trimming lines 68 that constitute the product shape of the cathode-side carbon paper 64. It is arranged outside.

  The cathode-side carbon paper 64 is positioned on the second jig 70 by inserting positioning pins 72a and 72b provided on the second jig 70 into the holes 66a and 66b. The second jig 70 is provided with suction means (not shown) for sucking the cathode-side carbon paper 64 by suction or electrostatic force.

  Therefore, the first jig 56 is positioned corresponding to the second jig 70, and the PEM unit 60 and the anode-side carbon paper 50 adsorbed by the first jig 56 are placed on the second jig 70. It is laminated on the adsorbed cathode-side carbon paper 64. For this reason, the cathode-side carbon paper 64, the PEM unit 60, and the anode-side carbon paper 50 are laminated on the second jig 70 in this order.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7, for example, a substantially plate-like spacer member 74 such as a resin sheet is disposed on the third jig 76 (the first jig 56 may be used). The spacer member 74 has a thick part 74a on the outer peripheral side and a thin part 74b on the center side.

  The thin portion 74b is set to a size slightly larger than the outer diameter of the gas diffusion layer 28a, while the thick portion 74a is provided in a frame shape over the width dimension h as shown in FIG. The thickness of the thick portion 74a is set to a thickness obtained by adding the thickness of the electrode catalyst layers 24a and 24b and the thickness of the base layers 26a and 26b to the thickness of the thin portion 74b.

  As shown in FIG. 7, positioning holes 80a and 78b are formed in the thick portion 74a, while positioning pins 80a inserted into the holes 78a and 78b are formed in the third jig 76. 80b is formed. The third jig 76 is provided with suction means (not shown) for sucking the spacer member 74.

  The spacer member 74 sucked and held by the third jig 76 is disposed to face the second jig 70. The spacer member 74 is laminated on the anode-side carbon paper 50 of the third jig 76 to the second jig 70 (see FIG. 8). Therefore, a laminated body 82 in which the cathode side carbon paper 64, the PEM unit 60, the anode side carbon paper 50, and the spacer member 74 are laminated on the second jig 70 is obtained.

  The laminated body 82 is removed from the second jig 70 and is integrally held by a fixing means, for example, a plurality of clips (not shown). Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9, a non-adhesive sheet member 84 made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a cushioning material sheet body 86 and a plate 88 are laminated on both sides of the laminated body 82.

  These are mounted on a hot press jig (not shown) and hot pressed at 120 ° C. to 150 ° C., whereby the anode side carbon paper 50 and the cathode side carbon paper 64 are integrated on both sides of the PEM unit 60. (See FIG. 10).

  Next, the outer peripheral edge 50 a of the anode-side carbon paper 50 is cut along the separation part 52. As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, an anode-side gas diffusion layer 28a having a predetermined dimension is obtained. A separation surface 52a is provided on the outer peripheral end surface of the gas diffusion layer 28a. The separation surface 52a can be identified by, for example, a concavo-convex shape obtained by cutting a perforation.

  Next, the PEM unit 60 and the cathode side carbon paper 64 are trimmed along the trimming line 68. Therefore, the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10 is manufactured (see FIGS. 1 and 3).

  In this case, in the first embodiment, anode-side carbon paper 50 in which the dimension of the gas diffusion layer 28a on the small dimension side is set in advance to be larger than the product dimension is prepared. Holes 54 a and 54 b are formed in the outer peripheral edge 50 a of the anode-side carbon paper 50 as positioning portions. The positioning pins 58 a and 58 b of the first jig 56 are inserted into the holes 54 a and 54 b, so that the anode-side carbon paper 50 is positioned and held with respect to the first jig 56.

  On the other hand, the cathode-side carbon paper 64 is similarly prepared in the cathode-side gas diffusion layer 28b. The cathode-side carbon paper 64 has a hole as a positioning portion on the outer peripheral edge portion 64a to be removed by trimming. 66a and 66b are formed. For this reason, when the positioning pins 72 a and 72 b provided on the second jig 70 are inserted into the holes 66 a and 66 b, the cathode-side carbon paper 64 is positioned and held on the second jig 70. ing.

  Next, the anode-side carbon paper 50 and the cathode-side carbon paper 64 are integrated on both surfaces of the PEM unit 60 (solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18). Further, the outer peripheral edge 50a including the holes 54a and 54b of the anode-side carbon paper 50 is cut along the separation portion 52, whereby the gas diffusion layer 28a having a desired dimension is obtained.

  Therefore, in order to position the gas diffusion layers 28a and 28b with respect to the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18, it is not necessary to use a dedicated frame member (positioning member), and the handling work of the frame member becomes unnecessary. Accordingly, the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18 and the gas diffusion layer 28a having different sizes can be positioned with high accuracy by a simple configuration and process, and the high-quality electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10 can be reliably obtained. And the effect that it becomes possible to manufacture rapidly is acquired.

  Further, a spacer member 74 is used during the hot pressing. The spacer member 74 has a thick portion 74a and a thin portion 74b, and the thickness of the thick portion 74a corresponds to the sum of the electrode catalyst layers 24a and 24b and the base layers 26a and 26b. ing. For this reason, at the time of hot pressing, the thick wall portion 74a is configured such that the outer peripheral edge portion of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18 (the outer peripheral edge portion protruding outward from the outer peripheral end face of the gas diffusion layer 28a in FIG. Can be securely adhered to the substrate.

  The operation of the fuel cell 12 configured as described above will be described below.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, an oxidant gas such as an oxygen-containing gas is supplied to the oxidant gas inlet communication hole 30a, and a fuel gas such as a hydrogen-containing gas is supplied to the fuel gas inlet communication hole 34a. Further, a cooling medium such as pure water, ethylene glycol, or oil is supplied to the cooling medium inlet communication hole 32a.

  Therefore, the oxidant gas is introduced into the oxidant gas flow path 36 of the second separator 16 from the oxidant gas inlet communication hole 30a, moves in the arrow B direction, and the cathode side electrode 22 of the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10. To be supplied. On the other hand, the fuel gas is introduced from the fuel gas inlet communication hole 34 a through the supply hole 46 into the fuel gas flow path 38 of the first separator 14. The fuel gas moves in the direction of arrow B along the fuel gas flow path 38 and is supplied to the anode side electrode 20 of the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10.

  Accordingly, in each electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10, the oxidant gas supplied to the cathode side electrode 22 and the fuel gas supplied to the anode side electrode 20 are consumed by an electrochemical reaction in the electrode catalyst layer. Power generation is performed.

  Next, the oxidant gas consumed by being supplied to the cathode side electrode 22 is discharged in the direction of arrow A along the oxidant gas outlet communication hole 30b. Similarly, the fuel gas consumed by being supplied to the anode side electrode 20 passes through the discharge hole portion 48 and is discharged in the direction of arrow A along the fuel gas outlet communication hole 34b.

  The cooling medium supplied to the cooling medium inlet communication hole 32a is introduced into the cooling medium flow path 40 between the first separator 14 and the second separator 16, and then flows in the direction of arrow B. The cooling medium is discharged from the cooling medium outlet communication hole 32b after the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10 is cooled.

  FIG. 12 is an explanatory view of a main part of the method for manufacturing the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The second embodiment is characterized in that a plurality of laminated bodies 82 are hot-pressed simultaneously. Specifically, the plurality of stacked bodies 82 (two in FIG. 12 but may be three or more) are based on the positioning portions (holes 56a, 66a, 78a and 56b, 66b, 78b). For example, they are positioned with respect to each other by passing positioning pins (not shown). A sheet member 84 is interposed between the stacked bodies 82.

  The sheet member 84, the buffer material sheet body 86, and the plate 88 are stacked on one stacked body 82, and the buffer material sheet body 86 and the plate 88b are stacked on the other stacked body 82. These are mounted on a hot press jig (not shown) and hot pressed at 120 ° C. to 150 ° C. Therefore, the anode-side carbon paper 50 and the cathode-side carbon paper 64 are integrated on both surfaces of each PEM unit 60.

  As a result, a plurality of electrolyte membrane / electrode structures 10 can be efficiently manufactured, and the manufacturing time of the electrolyte membrane / electrode structures 10 can be favorably shortened.

  FIG. 13 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a main part of an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 90 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

  The same components as those of the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 10 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 90, the anode side electrode 20 and the cathode side electrode 92 having the same surface area are provided on both surfaces 18 a and 18 b of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18. The anode side electrode 20 and the cathode side electrode 92 have gas diffusion layers 28a and 28b1 set at the same end face position, and the outer peripheral edge of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 18 is the end face of the gas diffusion layers 28a and 28b1. Projecting outwards.

  When manufacturing the thus configured electrolyte membrane / electrode structure 90, the gas diffusion layer 28a side is manufactured in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and the gas diffusion layer 28b1 forming the cathode side electrode 92 is These are manufactured in the same manner as the gas diffusion layer 28a. Thereby, in 2nd Embodiment, the effect similar to said 1st Embodiment is acquired.

  In the first and second embodiments, the anode-side carbon paper 50 is provided with the holes 54a and 54b as the positioning parts, and the positioning pins 58a and 58b inserted into the holes 54a and 54b. A first jig 56 is used.

  Instead, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, a first jig 96 is used in which the outer peripheral end surface 50aa of the anode-side carbon paper 50 is used as a positioning portion and a plurality of positioning pins 94 are in contact with the outer peripheral end surface 50aa. May be.

  Furthermore, the anode-side carbon paper 50 uses a perforated separation portion 52 provided with intermittent cuts as a separation portion, but is not limited thereto.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 15, a separation portion 98 composed of a slit that circulates around the gas diffusion layer 28 a is provided, and the separation portion 98 has a predetermined depth in the thickness direction of the anode-side carbon paper 50. (See FIG. 16). As a result, the anode-side carbon paper 50 can easily and reliably separate the outer peripheral edge portion 50a along the separation site 98 formed by continuous slits.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 90 ... Electrolyte membrane and electrode structure 12 ... Fuel cell 14, 16 ... Separator 18 ... Solid polymer electrolyte membrane 20 ... Anode side electrode 22, 92 ... Cathode side electrode 24a, 24b ... Electrode catalyst layer 26a, 26b ... Bottom Formation layer 28a, 28b, 28b1 ... Gas diffusion layer 30a ... Oxidant gas inlet communication hole 30b ... Oxidant gas outlet communication hole 32a ... Cooling medium inlet communication hole 32b ... Cooling medium outlet communication hole 34a ... Fuel gas inlet communication hole 34b ... Fuel Gas outlet communication hole 36 ... Oxidant gas flow path 38 ... Fuel gas flow path 40 ... Cooling medium flow path 50, 64 ... Carbon paper 50aa ... Outer peripheral end face 52, 98 ... Separation part 54a, 54b, 66a, 66b, 78a, 78b ... holes 58a, 58b, 72a, 72b, 80a, 80b ... positioning pins 60 ... PEM unit 68 ... trimming line 7 ... spacer member 82 ... laminate 84 ... sheet member 86 ... cushioning material sheet 88 ... plate

Claims (5)

An electrode catalyst layer is provided on both sides of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, a pair of diffusion layers are laminated outside the electrode catalyst layer, and an outer peripheral end surface of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane is an outer periphery of at least one of the diffusion layers A method of manufacturing an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure for a fuel cell protruding outward from an end surface,
Sandwiching the solid polymer electrolyte membrane between a pair of the diffusion layers to obtain a laminate; and
Integrating the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and the pair of diffusion layers by hot pressing the laminate;
After the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and the pair of diffusion layers are integrated by the hot press, the outer peripheral edge of at least one of the diffusion layers is placed on a separation site provided in advance in at least one of the diffusion layers. Cutting along, and
A method for producing an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure for a fuel cell, comprising: An electrode catalyst layer is provided on both sides of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane, a pair of diffusion layers are laminated outside the electrode catalyst layer, and an outer peripheral end surface of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane is an outer periphery of at least one of the diffusion layers A method of manufacturing an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure for a fuel cell protruding outward from an end surface,
Sandwiching the solid polymer electrolyte membrane between a pair of the diffusion layers to obtain a laminate; and
Integrating the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and the pair of diffusion layers constituting each laminate by simultaneously hot pressing the plurality of laminates with a sheet member interposed between the laminates; ,
After the solid polymer electrolyte membrane and the pair of diffusion layers are integrated by the hot press, the outer peripheral edge of at least one of the diffusion layers is placed on a separation site provided in advance in at least one of the diffusion layers. Cutting along, and
A method for producing an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure for a fuel cell, comprising: 3. The method of manufacturing an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure for a fuel cell according to claim 1 , wherein the diffusion layer is provided with a base layer bonded to the electrode catalyst layer. 4. The manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the positioning portion has a hole portion formed in an outer peripheral edge portion of the diffusion layer, and a positioning pin is inserted into the hole portion to perform the diffusion. A method for producing an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure for a fuel cell, comprising positioning a layer. The method of manufacture according to claim 1, wherein the separation site is for a fuel cell characterized by having an intermittent or continuously provided with notched on at least one of the diffusion layer Manufacturing method of electrolyte membrane / electrode structure.

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