Coating process for fuel cell components

• US 9,640,805 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2006
• Issued: 05/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Angelopoulos, Anastasios, Peters, Scott L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Murata, Austin
• Application Number:
  US11/538,824
• Publication Number:
  US 20070098908A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,862 Days
• Field of Search: 4274071, 427409, 4274301, 427115, 427435
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0204 Non-porous and characterised by the material
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0215 Glass; Ceramic materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0221 Organic resins; Organic polymers
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 8/0228 in the form of layered or coated products
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/50 Fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/582 Recycling of unreacted starting or intermediate materials

Abstract

A process including coating a fuel cell component with an aqueous solution including a polyelectrolyte polymer.

Claims

1. A process comprising:

providing a bipolar plate having a surface that delineates a plurality of lands and channels which define a gas flow field;

applying an aqueous solution comprising a polyelectrolyte polymer having cationic functional groups to the surface of the bipolar plate to form a polyelectrolyte polymer layer on at least a portion of the surface;

applying a hydrophilic second coating having anionic functional groups to the polyelectrolyte polymer layer so that an ionic bond is formed between the cationic functional groups in the polyelectrolyte polymer layer and the anionic functional groups in the hydrophilic second coating, wherein the second coating is derived from a material having the formula;