Membrane-electrode unit for polymer electrolyte fuel cells and processes for their preparation
AssigneeDegussa AG
InventorsRalf Zuber, Knut Fehl, Karl-Anton Starz, Udo Stenke
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Abstract
A membrane-electrode unit for polymer-electrolyte fuel cells. The membrane-electrode unit consists of a polymer electrolyte membrane and porous reaction layers applied to both sides comprising a catalyst and a proton-conducting polymer, a so-called ionomer. The membrane-electrode unit is characterized in that one part A1 of the catalyst of the reaction layers is saturated with the ionomer and is embedded in the ionomer whereas one part A2 of the catalyst is kept free from the ionomer, where the parts A1 and A2 are in a weight ratio of 1:1 to 20:1.
Claims29
A membrane-electrode unit for polymer-electrolyte fuel cells comprising a polymer-electrolyte membrane having a porous reaction layer of catalyst and ionomer applied on each side of said membrane, wherein said reaction layer displays an inhomogeneous microstructure that is formed from a part A1 of said catalyst saturated with said ionomer and embedded in the ionomer, and a remaining part A2 of said catalyst that is free of the ionomer, the parts A1 and A2 being in a weight ratio of from 1:1 to 20:1.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.