JP7041655B2 - Manufacturing method of electrolyte / electrode structure - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electrolyte / electrode structure.

Generally, a fuel cell is a power generation cell in which an electrolyte membrane / electrode structure (electrolyte / electrode structure) having an anode electrode body and a cathode electrode body provided on both sides of an electrolyte membrane (electrolyte layer) is sandwiched between separators. To prepare for.

In order to produce this type of electrolyte membrane / electrode structure, for example, an electrolyte layer such as a solid polymer electrolyte membrane is arranged between the anode electrode body and the cathode electrode body to form a laminate, and the laminate is formed. , Press the heated mold from both sides in the stacking direction to perform hot pressing. As a result, the heat of the mold is conducted to the electrolyte layer through the anode electrode body and the cathode electrode body, and the anode electrode body, the cathode electrode body and the electrolyte layer are integrated to obtain an electrolyte / electrode structure.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6484294

However, in the manufacturing method in which the anode electrode body, the cathode electrode body, and the electrolyte layer are hot-pressed by pressing a heated die, the product cannot be transported when the press is raised and lowered and heated, and the product cannot be transported at high speed for mass production. May be an obstacle.

For example, in Patent Document 1, the porosity of the anode electrode body and the cathode electrode body, that is, the gas permeability, and the non-porousness of the electrolyte layer, that is, the gas impermeable property are used to carry out transportation, and the anode electrode body and the anode electrode body are used. A technique for joining a cathode electrode body and an electrolyte layer is disclosed.

However, in this method, the anode electrode body, the cathode electrode body and the electrolyte layer are each sucked and transported to the suction transfer device, arranged on the suction heating device, and the anode electrode body, the cathode electrode body and the electrolyte layer are joined. I had to. Therefore, since it is necessary to repeatedly suck and transport the electrode body and the electrolyte layer, not only it takes time to manufacture the target electrolyte / electrode structure, but also the yield is lowered and the manufacturing cost is increased. There was a problem.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an electrolyte / electrode structure in a fuel cell at high speed, simplicity, and low cost.

An embodiment of the present invention is an electrolyte / electrode structure including a non-porous electrolyte layer and a pair of electrodes arranged on both sides of the electrolyte layer and having a porous gas diffusion layer and an electrode catalyst layer. The first step of arranging one of the pair of electrodes on a conveyor on a suction carrier, and the electrolyte / electrode in which the electrolyte layer and the other of the pair of electrodes are integrated. The second step of sucking the joint body through the one electrode body and superimposing the one electrode body and the electrolyte / electrode joint body, and heating the one electrode body and the electrolyte / electrode joint body. The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electrolyte / electrode structure, which comprises a third step of joining the electrodes.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, attention is paid to the non-porousness (gas non-permeability) of the electrolyte layer and the porosity (gas permeability) of the electrode body constituting the anode electrode and the cathode electrode, and these properties are maximized. A suction carrier is used to make the best use of it. That is, one electrode body is arranged on the suction transfer machine, and another electrode body and an electrolyte layer joint body produced in another step, that is, an electrolyte / electrode joint body, is subjected to the suction action of the suction transfer machine. By utilizing the above-mentioned one electrode body and sucking the electrolyte / electrode joint body, the electrode body and the electrolyte / electrode joint body can be overlapped and joined. That is, since the electrode body and the electrolyte / electrode joint can be superposed and joined on a single suction carrier, the target electrolyte / electrode structure can be joined with one pass on the suction carrier. It can be carried out.

Therefore, unlike the conventional method, it is not necessary to repeatedly suck and transport the electrolyte, so that it does not take time to manufacture the electrolyte / electrode structure. As a result, the electrolyte / electrode structure can be manufactured at high speed, easily, and at low cost.

In one aspect of the present invention, there is a fourth step of superimposing a non-porous sub-cascade on the outer peripheral end of one of the electrode bodies after the first step and before the second step, in the third step. The joining can be performed by sandwiching the sub-cassette between one electrode body and the electrolyte / electrode joint body. Therefore, such superposition of the sub-gaskets can be performed easily and at low cost only by sucking the electrolyte / electrode joint and the sub-gasket through one electrode body.

In the third step, it is particularly preferable to use a non-contact heating means. In this case, the electrode body and the electrolyte / electrode joint body can be easily joined on the suction carrier.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method for manufacturing an electrolyte / electrode structure of a fuel cell at high speed, simplicity, and low cost.

It is a schematic sectional drawing of the electrolyte / electrode structure which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the electrolyte / electrode structure which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing an electrolyte / electrode structure according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

First, the configuration of the electrolyte / electrode structure obtained by the manufacturing method of the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of the electrolyte / electrode structure. As shown in FIG. 1, the electrolyte / electrode structure 10 of the present embodiment has a non-porous (gas-impermeable) electrolyte layer 12 and a porous (gas-permeable) disposed on one side thereof. It has an anode electrode body 14 of the above and a porous (gas permeable) cathode electrode body 16 disposed on the other side. The electrolyte / electrode structure 10 shown in FIG. 1 can be used, for example, as an electrolyte / electrode structure for a solid polymer fuel cell or a solid oxide fuel cell.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, in the electrolyte / electrode structure 10 of the present embodiment, the sub-cascade 18 is arranged at the outer peripheral end of the anode electrode body 14, and the anode electrode body 14, the electrolyte layer 12, and the cathode electrode are arranged. The structure is such that the sub-anode 18 is sandwiched between the body 16 and the body 16. The sub-cascade 18 is made of, for example, a gas impermeable material so that gas does not move between the anode electrode body and the cathode electrode body, and a positioning mark for stacking fuel cell cells and a fuel cell are laminated. It is a member having a through hole to be used in the case and is effective in manufacturing the final fuel cell, but it may be omitted if it is not necessary to achieve the object.

The anode electrode body 14 has a porous (gas permeable) anode gas diffusion layer 14a made of carbon paper, carbon cloth, or the like, and porous carbon particles having a platinum alloy supported on the surface uniformly on the surface of the gas diffusion layer. It has a porous (gas permeable) anode electrode catalyst layer 14b applied to the above.

Similarly, the cathode electrode body 16 has a porous (gas permeable) cathode gas diffusion layer 16a made of carbon paper, carbon cloth, or the like, and porous carbon particles having a platinum alloy supported on the surface on the surface of the gas diffusion layer. It has a porous (gas permeable) cathode electrode catalyst layer 16b coated uniformly on the surface.

The anode electrode body 14 and the cathode electrode body 16 are formed into a roll shape by applying the electrode catalyst layers 14b and 16b to the roll-shaped gas diffusion layers 14a and 16a and drying them, respectively, and are used as an electrolyte / electrode structure. When it is used, it is cut out into a predetermined shape and used.

Next, a method for manufacturing the electrolyte / electrode structure of the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view for explaining a method for manufacturing an electrolyte / electrode structure according to the present embodiment. The arrows in the figure indicate the suction direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, in order to manufacture the electrolyte / electrode structure of the present embodiment, a suction conveyor 20 in which a conveyor 24 is entwined with a pair of rollers 22 is used. The suction of the suction transfer machine 20 is performed via a suction machine (not shown) arranged below the suction transfer machine 20 or a suction machine (not shown) arranged between the pair of rollers 22 and between the opposing conveyors 24. Therefore, it is configured to suck the object arranged on the conveyor 24 from the gap of the conveyor 24. The suction machine is configured to be able to suck an object arranged on the conveyor 24 at any position in the traveling direction of the conveyor 24.

First, in the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 (I), the porous (gas permeable) anode electrode body 14 is arranged on the conveyor 24 of the suction transfer machine 20 (first step). ).

Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (II), the sub-gasket 18 is arranged so as to overlap the outer peripheral end portion of the anode electrode body 14 on the downstream side in the traveling direction of the conveyor 24 (fourth step). At this time, the sub-gasket 18 is sucked through the anode electrode body 14, the outer peripheral end portion of the anode electrode body 14 is pressed downward by the sub-gasket 18, and the anode electrode body 14 is fixed at a predetermined position on the conveyor 24. ..

Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (III), the electrolyte / electrode separately formed by integrally forming the non-porous (gas-impermeable) electrolyte layer 12 and the porous (gas-permeable) cathode electrode body 16. The bonded body 17 is aligned with the anode electrode body 14 so as to sandwich a part of the outer peripheral end portion of the sub gasket 18 located on the upper surface of the anode electrode body 14, and the electrolyte is passed through the anode electrode body 14 with a suction machine (not shown). -The electrode joint body 17 is sucked, and the anode electrode body 14 and the electrolyte / electrode joint body 17 are superposed (second step). At this time, since the non-porous (gas impermeable) electrolyte layer 12 side of the electrolyte / electrode junction 17 is directed downward, the electrolyte layer 12 of the electrolyte / electrode junction 17 is attracted to the anode electrode body 14. The electrolyte / electrode joint 17 is crimped. Further, an adhesive (not shown) is applied to the surface of the upper surface of the sub-gasket 18 in contact with the electrolyte layer 12, and the outer peripheral end portion thereof is also adhered.

The electrolyte / electrode junction 17 formed by integrating the electrolyte layer 12 and the cathode electrode body 16 is formed on a roll-shaped cathode electrode body 16 in which the cathode gas diffusion layer 16b and the cathode electrode catalyst layer 16a are integrated. 12 is applied and dried to form a roll, which is cut into a predetermined shape to form a roll. It can also be formed by the same method as before, for example, by hot pressing.

Next, after the anode electrode body 14 and the electrolyte / electrode joint 17 are superposed on the conveyor 24 of the suction transfer machine 20, as shown in FIG. 2 (IV), for example, a lamp heater, hot air, or the like is used. The anode electrode body 14 and the electrolyte / electrode joint body 17 are joined by heating with a non-contact heating means (third step). Also at this time, since the sub-gasket 18 and the electrolyte / electrode joint 17 are sucked and crimped through the anode electrode body 14 with a suction machine (not shown), they are fixed so that their positions do not shift from each other. Further, as the heating means, one end side of the roller 22 constituting the suction conveyor 20 may be a double roller, a heater may be arranged in the roller, and the heater may be sandwiched between the double rollers to be heated and joined. Alternatively, a contact-type heater may be installed below the conveyor 24 (third step). Thereby, the target electrolyte / electrode structure 10 can be obtained.

At this time, it is desirable that the heating means is configured to heat only the joint portion, and specifically, the electrolyte / electrode structure 10 on the conveyor 24 advances below the non-contact heating means such as a lamp heater. When the sub gasket 18 is located below, the lamp heater above it is stopped, and when the cathode electrode body 16 of the electrolyte / electrode structure 10 is located below, the corresponding lamp heater is driven to heat it. good. This prevents quality deterioration due to heat input to the sub-gasket 18.

Further, according to the above embodiment, the anode electrode body 14 is arranged on the conveyor 24 of the suction transfer machine 20, and the electrolyte / electrode joint body 17 in which the electrolyte layer 12 and the cathode electrode body 16 are integrated is superposed on the conveyor 24. However, the cathode electrode body 16 may be arranged on the conveyor 24 of the suction transporter 20, and the electrolyte / electrode joint body in which the electrolyte layer 12 and the anode electrode body 14 are integrated may be overlapped and joined. ..

According to the manufacturing method of the present embodiment, attention is paid to the non-porous (gas impermeable) of the electrolyte layer 12 and the porosity (gas permeability) of the electrode bodies constituting the anode electrode body 14 and the cathode electrode body 16. In order to make the best use of these properties, the suction transfer machine 20 is used. That is, the anode electrode body 14 is arranged on the conveyor 24 of the suction transfer machine 20, and the joint body of the cathode electrode body 16 and the electrolyte layer 12 produced in another step, that is, the electrolyte / electrode joint body 17, is transferred to the suction transfer machine. By sucking the electrolyte / electrode junction 17 through the anode electrode body 14 by utilizing the suction action of 20, the anode electrode body 14 and the electrolyte / electrode junction 17 can be overlapped with each other on the suction transfer machine. By heating and joining, the desired electrolyte / electrode structure can be manufactured.

Therefore, unlike the conventional case, it is not necessary to suck and transport the electrolyte / electrode structure 10 many times, so that it does not take time to manufacture the electrolyte / electrode structure 10. As a result, the electrolyte / electrode structure can be manufactured at high speed, easily, and at low cost. Further, since the anode electrode body 14 and the electrolyte / electrode junction 17 can be superposed and bonded on the conveyor 24 of the single suction transporter 20, the target electrolyte / target electrolyte / electrode can be joined in one pass on the conveyor 24. The electrode structure 10 can be manufactured. Therefore, the electrolyte / electrode structure 10 can be manufactured at a higher speed.

Further, in the above embodiment, a fourth step of superimposing the non-porous sub-cascade 18 on the outer peripheral end portion of the anode electrode body 14 on the conveyor 24 is provided after the first step and before the second step. In the third step, the bonding is performed so that the sub-cascade 18 is sandwiched between the anode electrode body 14 and the electrolyte / electrode bonding body 17. Therefore, the action and effect of the above-mentioned sub-gasket 18 can be easily imparted to the obtained electrolyte / electrode structure 10. Further, the sub-gasket 18 can also be sucked through the anode electrode body 14 and superposed on the electrolyte / electrode joint body 17, and the anode electrode body 14 can be fixed on the conveyor 24.

Since the bonding in the third step is performed by using a non-contact heating means, the bonding between the anode electrode body 14 and the electrolyte / electrode bonding body 17 on the suction carrier 20 can be easily performed. Can be done.

Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are shown as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other embodiments, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

10 Electrolyte / Electrode structure 12 Electrolyte layer 14 Anode electrode body 16 Cathode electrode body 17 Electrolyte / electrode joint 18 Sub gasket 20 Suction transfer machine 22 Roller 24 Conveyor

Claims (3)

A method for manufacturing an electrolyte / electrode structure including a non-porous electrolyte layer and a pair of electrodes arranged on both sides of the electrolyte layer and having a porous gas diffusion layer and an electrode catalyst layer. ,
The first step of arranging one of the pair of electrode bodies on the conveyor of the suction carrier, and
An electrolyte / electrode joint body formed by integrating the electrolyte layer and the other of the pair of electrode bodies is sucked through one of the electrode bodies arranged on the conveyor, and the one electrode body and the electrolyte / electrode body are sucked. The second step of superimposing the electrode joints and
The third step of heating and joining the one electrode body and the electrolyte / electrode joint body,
A method for manufacturing an electrolyte / electrode structure, which comprises the above. A fourth step of superimposing the non-porous sub-gasket on the outer peripheral end of the one electrode body after the first step and before the second step is provided.
The method for manufacturing an electrolyte / electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein the bonding in the third step is performed so that the sub-gasket is sandwiched between the one electrode body and the electrolyte / electrode joint body. The method for producing an electrolyte / electrode structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bonding in the third step includes a step of using a non-contact heating means.

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