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US 8,148,035 B2Granted
Bipolar plate coating architecture for fuel cells and methods of making and using the same
AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC
InventorsGayatri Vyas Dadheech, Youssef M. Mikhail, Mahmoud H. Abd Elhamid
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
One exemplary embodiment of the invention includes a method including providing a bipolar plate for a fuel cell having a reactant gas flow field defined therein by a plurality of lands and at least one channel, and depositing a low contact resistant material selectively over portions of the lands leaving portions of the lands uncovered by the low contact resistant material.
Claims25
A method comprising:
- providing a bipolar plate for a fuel cell including a reactant gas flow field defined therein by a plurality of lands and at least one channel comprising at least two adjacent channel segments, the two adjacent channel segments each being defined at least by a floor and one sidewall or two sidewalls extending upward from the floor to an upper surface of a land extending between the sidewalls of the two adjacent channel segments, and selectively depositing a low contact resistance material over select portions of the upper surface of the land, leaving a plurality of portions of the upper surface of the land uncovered by the low contact resistance material wherein the selectively depositing comprises placing a mask including a plurality of openings over the bipolar plate and depositing the low contact resistance material through the openings in the mask wherein the openings are discrete openings each being aligned substantially only with a land.
A product comprising:
- a bipolar plate for a fuel cell including a coolant gas flow field defined therein by a plurality of lands and at least one channel comprising at least two adjacent channel segments, the two adjacent channel segments each being defined at least by a floor and one sidewall or two sidewalls extending upward from the floor to an upper surface of a land extending between the sidewalls of the two adjacent channel segments, and a low contact resistance material selectively deposited over portions of the upper surface of the land, leaving portions of the upper surface of the land uncovered by the low contact resistance material wherein substantially none of the low contact resistance material is deposited in the at least one channel.
A method comprising:
- providing a bipolar plate for a fuel cell including a reactant gas flow field defined therein by a plurality of lands and at least one channel, and selectively depositing a low contact resistance material over select portions of the lands, leaving portions of the lands-uncovered by the low contact resistance material, wherein the selectively depositing is conducted so that select portions of the at least one channel is covered with the low contact material leaving portions of the at least one channel uncovered by the low contact resistance material wherein the openings are discrete openings each being aligned substantially only with a land.
A method comprising:
- providing a bipolar plate for a fuel cell including a reactant gas flow field defined therein by a plurality of lands and at least one channel comprising at least two adjacent channel segments, the two adjacent channel segments each being defined at least by a floor and one sidewall or two sidewalls extending upward from the floor to an upper surface of a land extending between the sidewalls of the two adjacent channel segments, and selectively depositing a low contact resistance material over select portions of the upper surface of the land, leaving a plurality of portions of the upper surface of the land uncovered by the low contact resistance material wherein the low contact resistance material is deposited substantially only on the lands, and the hydrophilic coating is deposited substantially only in the at least one channel, further comprising depositing a hydrophilic coating into the at least one channel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.