Super-hydrophobic composite bipolar plate
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorRichard H. Blunk
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for making a super-hydrophobic composite bipolar plate including providing a substrate comprising a composite material including carbon, and a surface layer on the substrate, and wherein the surface layer includes silicon and oxygen, and heating the substrate and surface layer to cause moieties including carbon from the substrate to diffuse outwardly through the surface layer so that the moiety is attached to one of the silicon or oxygen.
Claims23
A method for making a fuel cell component, said method comprising:
- providing a substrate including a carbon;
- depositing a porous surface layer over the substrate, said porous surface layer including silicon and oxygen;
- and
- causing a portion of the carbon in the substrate to diffuse through the porous surface layer and attach to at least one of the silicon or oxygen to produce a hydrophobic surface on the substrate.
A method for making a composite bipolar plate for a fuel cell including a surface having portions that are super-hydrophobic, said method comprising:
- providing a composite substrate including a material having a hydrocarbon;
- depositing a porous surface layer over the substrate, said porous layer including at least one of silicon dioxide, SiOx, where 0.1<x<2.0, or a compound comprising silicon and oxygen;
- and
- heating at least a portion of the substrate so that hydrocarbon moieties diffuse through the surface layer and attach to one of the silicon dioxide, SiOX, or the silicon or oxygen in the compound to provide a super-hydrophobic surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.