Fuel cell gas separator

A method of forming a fuel cell gas separator which comprises:

• providing first and second layers of the gas separator, said first and second layers being formed of material that is impermeable to gases and having perforations through their thickness;
• superposing the first and second layers with a third layer of electrically conductive material having a first thickness interposed between the first and second layers;
• compressing the superposed first, second and third layers under conditions which cause the electrically conductive material to flow to produce a gas separator in which the third layer of electrically conductive material has a second thickness less than the first thickness and said electrically conductive material has flowed into the perforations in the first and second layers to plug said perforations.

A fuel cell gas separator comprising a first layer which is formed of a material that is impermeable to gases, a second layer which is formed of a material that is impermeable to gases, the first and second layers having perforations through their thickness which are closed by electrically conductive plug material, and a third intermediate layer between the first and second layers which is electrically conductive and is in electrical contact with the plug material in the perforations through the first and second layers, wherein the perforations in the first layer are offset relative to the perforations in the second layer.

A fuel cell gas separator comprising a first layer which is formed of a material that is impermeable to gases, a second layer which is formed of a material that is impermeable to gases, the first and second layers having perforations through their thickness which are closed by electrically conductive plug material, and a third intermediate layer between the first and second layers which is electrically conductive and is in electrical contact with the plug material in the perforations through the first and second layers, wherein surface formations defining gas flow passages therebetween are provided on an electrode-facing side of each of the first and second layers, said surface formations being electrically conductive and overlying the perforations containing the electrically conductive plug material.