Catalyst-coated membrane and method of manufacture
AssigneeJohnson Matthey Hydrogen Technologies Limited
InventorsJulie O'Sullivan, Peter Trew
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Abstract
Provided is a method of manufacturing a catalyst-coated ion-conducting membrane for an electrochemical cell, the method comprising: providing an ion-conducting membrane, an electrocatalyst layer, and a masking layer between the ion-conducting membrane and the electrocatalyst layer, wherein the masking layer comprises one or more aperture(s) to provide one or more exposed region(s) and one or more non-exposed region(s) of the electrocatalyst layer; and contacting the layers such that the one or more exposed region(s) of the electrocatalyst layer are transferred onto the ion-conducting membrane and the masking layer prevents the one or more non-exposed region(s) of the electrocatalyst layer from being transferred onto the ion-conducting membrane.
Claims34
A method of manufacturing a catalyst-coated ion-conducting membrane for an electrochemical cell, the method comprising:
- providing an ion-conducting membrane, an electrocatalyst layer, and a masking layer between the ion-conducting membrane and the electrocatalyst layer, wherein the masking layer comprises one or more aperture(s) to provide one or more exposed region(s) and one or more non-exposed region(s) of the electrocatalyst layer;
- and
- contacting the layers such that the one or more exposed region(s) of the electrocatalyst layer are transferred onto the ion-conducting membrane and the masking layer prevents the one or more non-exposed region(s) of the electrocatalyst layer from being transferred onto the ion-conducting membrane;
- wherein the electrocatalyst layer and the masking layer are provided together as a pre-formed masked electrocatalyst component, with the masking layer bonded to the electrocatalyst layer.
A method of producing a masked electrocatalyst component for use in manufacturing a catalyst-coated ion-conducting membrane, the method comprising:
- providing an electrocatalyst layer;
- providing a masking component comprising a masking layer, the masking layer comprising one or more aperture(s);
- and
- combining the masking layer with the electrocatalyst layer to form a masked electrocatalyst component
- further comprising a step of cutting alignment features into the masked electrocatalyst component, for assisting with aligning the masked electrocatalyst component during a process of manufacturing a catalyst-coated ion-conducting membrane.
A masked electrocatalyst component for use in manufacturing an electrochemical cell, the masked electrocatalyst component comprising:
- an electrocatalyst layer having a first surface and an oppositely disposed second surface;
- a masking layer disposed on the first surface of the electrocatalyst layer,
- wherein the masking layer comprises one or more aperture(s), thereby providing one or more exposed region(s) and one or more non-exposed region(s) of the first surface of the electrocatalyst layer,
- wherein the masking layer is bonded to the electrocatalyst layer by an adhesive.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.