JPS5966066A - Liquid fuel cell - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To alleviate the restriction to the attitude of a liquid fuel cell and enable it to be used on a slant by bringing a capillary material into contact with the current-collector-side surface of the anode and immersing one end of the capillary material in liquid fuel. CONSTITUTION:An anode 1 and a cathode 2 which is made by applying an electrode catalyst to one surface of a porous carbon plate before it is sintered, are assembled facing each other with an electrolyte 3 interposed. An oxidant 4 and a cathodic current collector 6 are installed over the surface of the cathode 2 to which the electrode catalyst is not applied. A capillary material 9 is brought into contact with the anodic-current-collector-5-side surface of the anode 1 up to the level sufficient for a liquid fuel 8 to reach the top end of the anode 1. One end of the capillary material 9 is immersed in the fuel 8 contained in a fuel storage chamber 7. A liquid fuel cell constituted in such a manner greatly alleviates the restriction to its attitude and can be used at a considerable slant.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a liquid fuel cell that generates electricity using liquid fuel such as 2 methanol.

[Prior art]

When operating a liquid fuel cell, it is necessary to sequentially supply fuel to the anode.
As seen in Japanese Patent No. 268, a method of supplying water using auxiliary equipment such as a pump is adopted. However, the use of auxiliary equipment has drawbacks such as the need for electric power to drive it, the difficulty in reducing its size and weight, and the position in which it can be used.

[Purpose of the invention]

The purpose of ``Non-explosion'' is to provide a liquid fuel cell in which the attitude limit is relaxed to 11〕, is capable of performing one fuel change even in a similar state, and does not require an auxiliary device for fuel supply. It is in.

[Summary of the invention]

The liquid fuel cell d1 of the present invention (a) to (d),
(a) consisting of a porous substrate carrying an electrode contact;
an anode to which a liquid fuel is supplied; (b) a cathode on which an electrocatalyst is supported and an oxidizing agent supplied; (C) an electrolyte interposed between the anode and the cathode; (d) a cathode to be supplied to the anode. liquid fuel storage chamber,
ff: In a liquid fuel cell containing a liquid fuel cell, a material exhibiting capillary action (hereinafter referred to as capillary It is characterized in that a material (referred to as a material) is injected into the fuel, and one end of the material is brought into contact with the liquid fuel.

In the present invention, initially, a textile fuel was attached to the lower end of the anode and an attempt was made to supply liquid fuel to the anode. However, the battery characteristics were extremely poor. The inventors have determined that the cause of this is that fuel is not being supplied to the entire anode. In other words, I expected it to show, but
In reality, it became clear that there was not a single tube of hair at all. ,,? Because of the above, Fuiniseki et al. were able to complete the present invention by fully examining the position of the capillary particles in the anode.

Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of a liquid fuel cell according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a porous substrate supporting an electrode catalyst, and when liquid fuel is supplied, an anode,
2 is the cathode where the electrode catalyst is supported and the oxidizing agent is supplied; 3 is the electrolyte; 4 is the oxidizing agent chamber; 5 is the anode side current collector; 6 is the cathode side current collector; 7 is the fuel storage chamber , 8 is a fuel, and 9 is a capillary filter, which are the characteristic parts of the present invention. Figure 2 is a view of Figure 1 viewed from the direction of the arrow (
a-a fAII 1 side view), A is the current collecting part, broken line B
indicates the upper end portion of the anode 1. The capillary filter 9 does not necessarily have to be provided on the entire surface of the non-current collecting portion. tp! jK is preferably disposed at or near the top end portion B of the anode l. Preferably, it is arranged up to a position of 90% or more of the height of the anode. This is a necessary condition to fully supply fuel to the top of the anode. The inventors have determined that liquid fuel permeates or permeates horizontally in the anode, but does not exhibit capillary action in an upward direction. Here, capillary materials include, for example, organic or inorganic fibers such as paper, cotton, asbestos, and glass, and synthetic fiber bases such as acrylic fibers, aromatic polyamide R fibers, nylon fibers, polyamideimide fibers, polynisder fibers, and polypropylene fibers. etc. are used. Particularly preferred materials are those that are acid-resistant or alkali-resistant. When a natural organic fiber base material is used, the surface is treated with resin Sonis. Of course, it is necessary to suppress the resin treatment level to such an extent that capillarity is not lost. In addition to the fibrous material, a porous plate such as a sintered body of inorganic powder such as alumina or silica is used. You can also do that. In this case, the particles that are more hydrophilic are more likely to be t.However, according to the experiments of the present inventors, if the particles contain a fuel that has an affinity for carbon, such as methanol, the particles become hydrophobic. We have confirmed that all materials can be used. The thickness of the capillary interlayer cannot be determined uniquely due to differences in material and pore density, but from the viewpoint of strength and swelling resistance, a thickness of 10 μm or more is appropriate.

In the present invention, the anode 1, cathode, and electrolyte that have been provided in conventionally known liquid fuel cells can be used. Among these, as an electrolyte, there is also
Polymer electrolytes such as polystyrene sulfonic acid described in Specification No. 37 can also be used.

In the present invention, when the toga of the anode 1 is carbon, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the capillary material 9 is
It is more effective to place the anode up to yiM 615 minutes above the anode and bring it into close contact.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment in which a throttle device IO is provided in a part of the tube to adjust the fuel supply. It is something that By moving the throttle device 10 in the direction of the arrow and tightening the capillary material 9, the fuel rise and flow can be prevented from decreasing to the next level, and the supply can be completely stopped.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which a plurality of unit batteries are stacked. Also, in this embodiment, the fuel storage chamber 7'! i
l-Fuel 1! It is provided from the lower part of the δ forest to the side 7''ilS. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the stacked battery.

The fuel storage chamber 7 can be replenished from, for example, by providing the injection tank 1 in a part of the entire storage chamber 7.

In the present invention, the capillary needle can have various shapes other than the one shown in FIG. 2 above.

Other examples are shown in Figures 16 to 8I)9. @Figure 6 and Figure 9 are shown in the same way as Figure 2 of 61S. -1, In the present invention, FIGS. 10 and 11
As shown in the figure, a 12-karat gold groove for discharging reaction product gas may be provided in the - section of the current collector 5. As shown in FIG. 12, it is also effective to add grooves 13 in other directions, such as in the vertical direction or in the horizontal direction, as shown in FIG. In this case, the reaction product gas can be more reliably discharged even if -C slope occurs during the first cycle of the battery.

According to the research conducted by the present inventors, as shown in FIG. Particularly, from the upper plate 1 to the anode 1
It is possible to control the fuel permeation of '\' according to the valve hair. For example, if the fuel concentration of fuel 8 is extremely high, it is possible to prevent excessive supply to the anode and also suppress the direct oxidation reaction that occurs when it reaches the cathode 2 via the electrolyte 3. I can do it.

〔Example〕

Apply an electrode catalyst to one side of a porous carbon plate, and assemble the sintered cathode and anode VJ, with the electrode catalyst coated surfaces facing each other via the electrolyte, and place the electrode catalyst coated side of the cathode on the opposite electrode coated side as shown in Figure 2. As shown, the capillary material and the anode side current collector are brought into close contact with each other, and one end of the capillary material is immersed in the fuel in the fuel storage chamber, and the oxidizer chamber and the cathode current collector are placed on the cathode side. A methanol fuel cell was fabricated by stacking four unit cells in series in close contact with each other as shown in FIG. The capillary composite used here is a mixture of bulb fibers and glass fibers, which is then made into a nonwoven fabric, which is further treated with a resin.

The terminal pressure of this battery in a single battery is 50C.

The voltage was 0.52 V at a load of 70 mA/cm.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The liquid fuel cell of the present invention has greatly relaxed posture restrictions and can be used even in a considerably inclined state. These advantages include conventional bonder supply, fuel dripping blade type, ←ηdoQ・-
The fuel supply method required is 1tAK body fuel'l11. From the pond t Yui: Iruhitogade? ΣNot +'+ '1 /e-
, Bonda and other assistants must also be present, tj-, -Jt,
It's a little difficult, 11 right (i version is also possible.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1′ ↓ 1 Figure e 11 friend body 5° according to an embodiment of the present invention
;:; Figure 342 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a pond; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a battery equipped with a throttle device, which is an example of the pond Mμ; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a battery with a full stack of unit batteries 1 to 1, and a 1-F storage chamber extending from the bottom to the side of the battery body, Part 5, -t゛(Congratulations!! Figures 5 to 7 are perspective views showing the shape of the capillary abrasive material, and Figures 10 to 12): Reaction generation 2] 24: Collection with grooves for IF outlet FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the state in which the electric body, the hair ff, and the ITL tube 11 are stacked together; FIG. 1...anode, 2...quad, 3...4L)
γF￥L 4... Oxidizer chamber, 5... Anode side collection? Lt body, 6... Cathode current collector, 7... Fuel storage chamber, 8... Fuel, 9... Capillary tube material, 10... Squeezing device, 11... Fuel inlet. 12.13...Groove for discharging reaction product gas, 14...Fuel Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Port Fig. 4 cl? 57th 110th /2

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The following elements (a) to (d): (a) an anode comprising a porous substrate supporting an electrode catalyst and to which liquid fuel is supplied; (b) an electrode catalyst; (C) an electrolyte interposed between the anode and the cathode; (d) a storage chamber for liquid fuel to be supplied to the anode; A capillary material is placed in contact with the current collecting surface of the anode at a height sufficient for the liquid fuel to reach the top of the anode, and one end of the material is A liquid fuel m-pond characterized by being in contact with fuel. 2.7 The liquid fuel cell according to claim 1, characterized in that the material exhibiting capillary action is placed in contact with the node up to 90% or more of the height of the anode. 3. The liquid fuel cell according to claim 2, wherein the material exhibiting capillary action is disposed substantially up to the uppermost end of the anode. 4. The liquid fuel cell according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the porous substrate of the 7 nodes is a carbon substrate. 5. The liquid according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the material exhibiting capillary action is selected from a natural fiber base material, a glass nonwoven fabric, a synthetic fiber nonwoven fabric, and an inorganic porous material. Fuel cell. 6. The liquid fuel cell according to claim 5, wherein the natural fiber base material is treated with a resin. 7. The liquid fuel cell according to claim 1 or 6, wherein the fuel is methanol. 8. The following elements (a) to (d): (a) An anode consisting of a porous substrate supporting an electrode catalyst and to which liquid fuel is supplied; 0)) 't
lf, a cathode on which a polar phosphorescent medium is supported and an oxidizing agent is supplied; (C) interposed between the anode and the cathode;
(d) a reservoir chamber for liquid fuel supplied to the anode, the liquid fuel cell comprising: (d) a storage chamber for liquid fuel supplied to the anode, the liquid fuel being sufficiently charged on the current collecting side of the anode to allow the liquid fuel to reach the uppermost end of the anode; The material is placed at a height that shows capillary action, and one end of the material is in contact with the liquid fuel, and a part of the material is provided with a squeezing means. 9. The liquid fuel cell is characterized in that the supply amount is directed to the open side 1. 9. The material exhibiting capillary action brought into contact with the anode is disposed up to a position of 90% or more of the height of the anode. 10. The liquid fuel cell according to claim 8, characterized in that the material exhibiting capillary action is disposed substantially up to the uppermost end of the anode. 11. The liquid fuel cell according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the porous substrate of the 7 nodes is a carbon substrate. The liquid fuel cell according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the material shown is selected from natural fiber base materials, deras nonwoven fabrics, synthetic fiber nonwoven fabrics, and inorganic porous bodies. 13. Natural The liquid fuel cell according to claim 12, characterized in that the fiber base material is treated with a resin. 14. The liquid fuel cell according to claim 8 or claim 1, characterized in that the liquid fuel is methanol. Liquid fuel cell according to item 9. 15. The following elements (a) to (e): (a) Supporting a fit electrode catalyst (also not a porous substrate, when the liquid fuel is supplied, the anode, (1)
) a cathode on which an electrode catalyst is supported and an oxidizing agent supplied; (C) an electrolyte interposed between the anode and the cathode; /d) a storage chamber for liquid fuel supplied to the anode;
e) A current collector provided in close contact with the anode, in all '8b liquid fuel cells, a height sufficient to allow the liquid fuel to reach the top end of the anode on the current collecting side of the anode. The current collector is provided with a vertical or oblique groove for discharging the reaction product gas. What! F! A pond with liquid fuel.