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US 7,431,875 B2Granted
Process of preparing a unitized membrane electrode assembly using compression molding
AssigneeE.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
InventorDavid P. Rule
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention provides a mold for use in a compression molding apparatus that has a frame part (41) with a hole through its center; a bottom plunger (42); and a top plunger (43); wherein the plungers are fabricated to fit substantially snugly in the hole in the frame part, and wherein at least one plunger comprises at least one low-thermal conductivity insert (44, 44′). The mold is useful in compression molding processes used in the preparation of unitized membrane electrodes.
Claims14
A process of preparing a unitized membrane electrode assembly using compression molding comprising:
- (a) forming a multilayer sandwich comprising a first gas diffusion backing having sealing edges;
- a first electrocatalyst coating composition;
- a polymer membrane;
- a second electrocatalyst coating composition;
- and a second gas diffusion backing having sealing edges;
- and
- (b) compression molding a sealing polymer to the multilayer sandwich, wherein the mold used in the compression molding apparatus comprises:
- (c) a frame part with a hole through its center;
- (d) a bottom plunger;
- and
- (e) a top plunger;
- wherein the plungers are fabricated to fit substantially snuggly in the hole in the frame part, and wherein at least one plunger comprises at least one low-thermal conductivity insert;
- whereby the sealing polymer is impregnated into at least a portion of the sealing edges of the first and second gas diffusion backings, and the thermoplastic polymer envelops a peripheral region of both the first and second gas diffusion backings and the polymer membrane to form a thermoplastic polymer, fluid impermeable seal.
10 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.