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US 11,299,810 B2Granted
Barrier layer for corrosion protection in electrochemical devices
AssigneeGreenerity GmbH
InventorsJens-Peter Suchsland, Alessandro Ghielmi, Pia Braun
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AssigneeGreenerity GmbH
InventorsJens-Peter Suchsland, Alessandro Ghielmi, Pia Braun
Estimating the term…
The invention is directed to a barrier layer for corrosion protection in electrochemical devices, e.g. carbon based gas diffusion layers (GDLs) in electrochemical devices, comprising electrically conductive ceramic material and a non-ionomeric polymer binder. The electrically conductive ceramic material has an electrical conductivity of >0.1 S/cm, preferably >1 S/cm in air atmosphere (as detected by the powder method) and is selected from the group of precious metal and/or base metal containing oxides, carbides, nitrides, borides and mixtures and combinations thereof. Membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs), catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs), gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) and gas diffusion layers (GDLs) comprising the barrier layer of the invention show improved corrosion resistance, preferably against carbon corrosion; particularly in start-up/shut-down cycles and fuel starvation situations of PEM fuel cells.
A membrane-electrode assembly or a catalyst-coated membrane comprising at least one barrier layer, wherein the membrane-electrode assembly further comprises a catalyst layer and a gas diffusion layer and the barrier layer is positioned between the catalyst layer and the gas diffusion layer, wherein the catalyst-coated membrane further comprises an ionomer membrane and two catalyst layers and the barrier layer is positioned on at least one of the catalyst layers, wherein said barrier layer comprises electrically conductive ceramic material and a non-ionometic polymer binder, and wherein the barrier layer is a distinct layer from the gas diffusion layer and from any microporous layers attached to the gas diffusion layer,
The membrane-electrode assembly or a catalyst-coated membrane according to claim I, wherein the electrically conductive ceramic material has a high acid stability showing a solubility of <10−3 mol/l upon acidic treatment in 1 M H2SO4 at 90° C.
A gas diffusion electrode comprising a carbon-based gas diffusion layer and a barrier layer which comprises electrically conductive ceramic material and a non-ionomeric polymer binder and wherein a catalyst layer is coated on the barrier layer and
An electrochemical device selected from the group of PEM fuel cells, PEM electrolysers, regenerative PEM fuel cells, redox-flow batteries and batteries comprising a barrier layer which comprises electrically conductive ceramic material and a non-ionomeric polymer binder,
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.