# US 10,873,091 B2 · Method for producing porous metal body and method for producing electrode catalyst

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- Number: US 10,873,091 B2
- Document ID: US10873091B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/311,733
- Filed: 2017-03-28
- Published: 2019-06-27
- Granted: 2020-12-22
- Earliest claimed: 2016-06-23
- Assignees: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Seiichi Kouketsu; Kei Matsumoto; Yu Wakakuwa
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10873091B2

## CPC

- H01M 4/8621: {containing only metallic or ceramic material, e.g. made by sintering or sputtering}
- B22F 3/1121: {by using decomposable, meltable or sublimatable fillers}
- B22F 7/004: {comprising at least one non-porous part}
- B22F 7/08: with one or more parts not made from powder {(B22F7/062 takes precedence)}
- C22C 1/08: Alloys with open or closed pores
- C23C 14/12: Organic material
- C23C 14/205: {by cathodic sputtering}
- C23C 14/24: Vacuum evaporation
- H01M 4/86: Inert electrodes with catalytic activity, e.g. for fuel cells
- H01M 4/88: Processes of manufacture
- H01M 4/8807: {Gas diffusion layers}
- H01M 4/8867: {Vapour deposition}
- H01M 4/8871: {Sputtering}
- H01M 4/8875: {Methods for shaping the electrode into free-standing bodies, like sheets, films or grids, e.g. moulding, hot-pressing, casting without support, extrusion without support}
- H01M 4/8885: {Sintering or firing}
- H01M 4/9041: {Metals or alloys (H01M4/92 takes precedence)}
- C23C 14/00: Coating by vacuum evaporation, by sputtering or by ion implantation of the coating forming material
- H01M 8/10: Fuel cells with solid electrolytes
- Y02E 60/50: Fuel cells
- Y02P 70/50: Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
- H01M: PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY
- B22F: WORKING METALLIC POWDER; MANUFACTURE OF ARTICLES FROM METALLIC POWDER; MAKING METALLIC POWDER (making alloys by powder metallurgy C22C); APPARATUS OR DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR METALLIC POWDER
- C22C: ALLOYS (treatment of alloys C21D, C22F)
- C23C: COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL (making metal-coated products by extrusion B21C23/22; covering with metal by connecting pre-existing layers to articles, see the relevant places, e.g. B21D39/00, B23K; metallising of glass C03C; metallising mortars, concrete, artificial stone, ceramics or natural stone C04B41/00; enamelling of, or applying a vitreous layer to, metals C23D; treating metal surfaces or coating of metals by electrolysis or electrophoresis C25D; single-crystal film growth C30B; by metallising textiles D06M11/83; decorating textiles by locally metallising D06Q1/04)
- Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
- Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS

## Abstract

The present invention is a method for producing a porous metal body or a method for producing an electrode catalyst, which is capable of simplifying the production process and improving the production efficiency by not requiring a step of immersion in an acid treatment solution. A method for producing a porous metal body according to the present invention comprises: a step for forming a metal resin-containing layer, which contains a metal and a resin that has a lower melting point than the metal, on a base; and a step for obtaining a porous metal body by subjecting the metal resin-containing layer to a heat treatment, thereby sintering the metal and removing the resin from the metal resin-containing layer.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for producing a porous metal body, comprising the steps of:
forming a metal-resin-containing layer containing a metal and a resin on a base, a melting point of the resin being lower than that of the metal; and
heat-treating the metal-resin-containing layer, thereby sintering the metal and removing the resin from the metal-resin-containing layer, to obtain the porous metal body, wherein in the step of forming the metal-resin-containing layer, a metal layer containing the metal and a resin layer containing the resin are stacked alternately to form the metal-resin-containing layer.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of forming the metal-resin-containing layer, the metal-resin-containing layer is formed by at least one of sputtering and vapor deposition.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
controlling a porosity of the porous metal body by modulating a thickness ratio between the metal layer and the resin layer.

### Claim 4

A method for producing an electrode catalyst, comprising the steps of:
forming a metal-resin-containing layer containing a metal catalyst and a resin on a base, a melting point of the resin being lower than that of the metal catalyst; and
heat-treating the metal-resin-containing layer, thereby sintering the metal catalyst and removing the resin from the metal-resin-containing layer, to obtain a porous electrode catalyst, wherein in the step of forming the metal-resin-containing layer, a metal layer containing the metal catalyst and a resin layer containing the resin are stacked alternately to form the metal-resin-containing layer.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method according to claim 4, wherein in the step of forming the metal-resin-containing layer, the metal-resin-containing layer is formed by at least one of sputtering and vapor deposition.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The method according to claim 4, wherein a gas diffusion layer is used as the base.

### Claim 7 (depends on 4)

The method according to claim 4, further comprising:
controlling a porosity of the porous electrode catalyst by modulating a thickness ratio between the metal layer and the resin layer.