Curable subgasket for a membrane electrode assembly
First Claim
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1. A structure for a membrane electrode assembly (MEA), comprising:
- a membrane electrode subassembly having components, comprising;
a polymer electrolyte membrane;
a gas diffusion layer; and
a catalyst layer between the polymer electrolyte membrane and the gas diffusion layer; and
a subgasket, disposed over one or more components of the membrane electrode subassembly, a peripheral edge of the gas diffusion layer overlapping the subgasket, the subgasket comprising a layer of material that is depositable and curable in situ.
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Abstract
A subgasket for a membrane electrode assembly is deposited on a surface of a MEA component and cured in situ. A membrane electrode subassembly includes a polymer electrolyte membrane, a gas diffusion layer and a catalyst layer between the polymer electrolyte membrane and the gas diffusion layer. The membrane electrode subassembly includes a subgasket, disposed over one or more components of the membrane electrode subassembly. The subgasket is made of a layer of material that is depositable and curable in situ. A peripheral edge of the gas diffusion layer overlaps the subgasket.
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Citations
92 Claims
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1. A structure for a membrane electrode assembly (MEA), comprising:
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a membrane electrode subassembly having components, comprising;
a polymer electrolyte membrane;
a gas diffusion layer; and
a catalyst layer between the polymer electrolyte membrane and the gas diffusion layer; and
a subgasket, disposed over one or more components of the membrane electrode subassembly, a peripheral edge of the gas diffusion layer overlapping the subgasket, the subgasket comprising a layer of material that is depositable and curable in situ. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A membrane electrode assembly (MEA), comprising:
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a first membrane electrode structure; and
a second membrane electrode structure coupled to the first membrane electrode structure, at least one of the first and second membrane electrode structures having components, comprising;
an electrode subassembly having components, comprising;
a polymer electrolyte membrane;
a gas diffusion layer; and
a catalyst layer between the polymer electrolyte membrane and the gas diffusion layer; and
a subgasket disposed over one or more components of the electrode subassembly, a peripheral edge of the gas diffusion layer overlapping the subgasket, the subgasket comprising a layer of material that is depositable and curable in situ. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. An electrochemical cell assembly, comprising:
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a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) having components, comprising;
a polymer electrolyte membrane;
first and second gas diffusion layers disposed at opposite surfaces of the polymer electrolyte membrane; and
first and second catalyst layers, the first catalyst layer disposed between the first gas diffusion layer and the polymer electrolyte membrane and the second catalyst layer disposed between the second gas diffusion layer and the polymer electrolyte membrane; and
a subgasket formed of one or more layers of material that is depositable and curable in situ, a portion of the subgasket disposed between the first and second gas diffusion layers. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. A method for making a membrane electrode assembly (MEA), comprising:
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forming one or more subgasketed MEA components, comprising;
depositing a dispersable subgasket material over a portion of at least one surface of one or more MEA components;
curing the subgasket dispersion material in situ to form one or more subgasket layers;
aligning first and second gas diffusion layer (GDL) structures at opposite surfaces of a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) structure so that portions of the subgasket layers are disposed between the first and the second GDL structures, wherein one or more of the first GDL structure, the second GDL structure and the PEM structure comprises the one or more subgasketed MEA components. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86)
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87. A method for making a membrane electrode (MEA) subassembly including a gas diffusion layer (GDL) structure and a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) structure, the method comprising:
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forming a subgasketed MEA component, comprising;
depositing a dispersable subgasket material over a portion of at least one surface of an MEA component;
curing the subgasket dispersion material in situ to form one or more subgasket layers;
disposing the GDL structure over the PEM structure so that an edge of the GDL structure overlaps a portion of the one or more subgasket layers, wherein at least one of the GDL and the PEM comprise the one or more subgasketed MEA components. - View Dependent Claims (88, 89, 90, 91, 92)
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Specification