Looking for breakthrough ideas for innovation challenges? Try Patsnap Eureka!

Fuel cell having thermo-responsive polymer

A fuel cell and polymer technology, applied in the direction of fuel cells, fuel cell additives, fuel cell components, etc., can solve problems such as non-transmission, fuel cell performance degradation, and poor performance

Inactive Publication Date: 2004-07-21
GOOGLE TECH HLDG LLC
View PDF0 Cites 3 Cited by
  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

If the by-product water is not removed from the MEA quickly enough, the MEA "floods" (too much water is produced during fuel cell operation) and the performance of the fuel cell degrades and / or the fuel cell stops working
At the other extreme ("dry" - insufficient water produced during fuel cell operation), if the PEM is not sufficiently hydrated, the ion conductivity of the PEM is poor and the transport rate of ions across the membrane is slowed or not transported, thus lead to poor performance

Method used

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
View more

Image

Smart Image Click on the blue labels to locate them in the text.
Viewing Examples
Smart Image
  • Fuel cell having thermo-responsive polymer
  • Fuel cell having thermo-responsive polymer
  • Fuel cell having thermo-responsive polymer

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

Embodiment Construction

[0014] Although this specification can draw the conclusion that the claims defining the features of the present invention are considered novel, it is believed that the structure, operation method and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by considering the following description in conjunction with the diagrams. Thermal polymers can compensate for hydration by taking advantage of the elevated temperature experienced by the fuel cell during operation and the transition from hydrophobic to hydrophilic (and vice versa) the fuel cell undergoes at elevated temperatures. In order to maintain the optimal hydration of the polymer electrolyte membrane, a thermosensitive polymer is included in the fuel cell. The thermal polymer is close to the membrane electrode assembly, so that the fuel and oxidant gas pass through the thermal polymer to reach the membrane electrode assembly. In response to changes in the operating temperature of the membrane electrode assembly, the...

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

PUM

No PUM Login to View More

Abstract

A thermo-responsive polymer is incorporated into a fuel cell (50) in order to maintain optimum hydration of the polymer electrolyte membrane. The thermo-responsive polymer (52) is situated proximate to the membrane electrode assembly (54) such that fuel or oxidant gas passes (56) through the thermo-responsive polymer to the membrane electrode assembly. The thermo-responsive polymer swells or shrinks in response to changes in the operating temperature of the membrane electrode assembly, altering the flow rate of the fuel or oxidant gas passing through the thermo-responsive polymer.

Description

Technical field [0001] The present invention relates generally to fuel cells, and more specifically to systems and methods for adjusting the hydration level of polymer electrolyte membranes during operation. Background technique [0002] A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell in which the change in free energy from the fuel oxidation reaction is converted into electrical energy. The reaction only produces water as a by-product, which is environmentally friendly and attracts fuel cells to a potentially huge market as portable energy. A typical fuel cell consists of a fuel electrode (anode) and an oxidizer electrode (cathode) separated by an ion-conducting electrolyte. The electrodes are electrically connected to a load (for example, a circuit) through an external conductor. In these circuit conductors, current is transported by electron flow, but in the electrolyte it is transported by ion flow, such as hydrogen ions (H + ), or the hydroxide ion (OH - ). Because of its high reacti...

Claims

the structure of the environmentally friendly knitted fabric provided by the present invention; figure 2 Flow chart of the yarn wrapping machine for environmentally friendly knitted fabrics and storage devices; image 3 Is the parameter map of the yarn covering machine
Login to View More

Application Information

Patent Timeline
no application Login to View More
IPC IPC(8): H01M4/00H01M8/02H01M8/04H01M8/10
CPCH01M8/1044H01M8/1004H01M8/0239Y02E60/521H01M2300/0082H01M8/1023H01M8/04291H01M8/1088Y02P70/50Y02E60/50
Inventor 吉纳·金姆罗纳德·J·凯利史蒂文·D·普拉特
Owner GOOGLE TECH HLDG LLC
Who we serve
  • R&D Engineer
  • R&D Manager
  • IP Professional
Why Patsnap Eureka
  • Industry Leading Data Capabilities
  • Powerful AI technology
  • Patent DNA Extraction
Social media
Patsnap Eureka Blog
Learn More
PatSnap group products

Browse by: Latest US Patents, China's latest patents, Technical Efficacy Thesaurus, Application Domain, Technology Topic, Popular Technical Reports.

© 2024 PatSnap. All rights reserved.Legal|Privacy policy|Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement|Sitemap|About US| Contact US: help@patsnap.com