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US 6,977,009 B2Granted
Metal coated polymer electrolyte membrane having a reinforcement structure
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsAlfred I-Tsung Pan, Yoocham Jeon
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Abstract
A metal-coated, wire-reinforced polymer electrolyte membrane that is permeable only to protons and hydrogen is disclosed. The metal-coated, wire-reinforced polymer electrolyte membrane has a surface microstructure that prevents cracking of the metal coating during hydration. The metal-coated, wire-reinforced polymer electrolyte membrane can be used in liquid-type fuel cells to prevent crossover of fuel, gas and impurities.
Claims21
A metal-coated polymer electrolyte membrane, said membrane comprising:
- a wave-like surface microstructure having crests and troughs;
- a plurality of reinforcement wires embedded in said membrane;
- and
- a metal film deposited on top of said surface microstructure,
- wherein said reinforcement wires have a Young's modulus that is greater than a Young's modulus of said membrane, and are positioned in parallel to the troughs of the wave-like surface structure, and wherein said metal film is permeable only to protons and hydrogen.
2 more elements
A metal-coated polymer electrolyte membrane, the membrane comprising:
- a wave-like surface microstructure having crests and troughs;
- at least one reinforcement wire embedded in the membrane;
- and
- a metal film established on the surface microstructure;
- wherein the at least one reinforcement wire has a Young's modulus that is greater than a Young's modulus of the membrane, and is positioned substantially parallel to the troughs of the wave-like surface microstructure, and wherein the metal film is permeable substantially only to protons and hydrogen.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.