Patent ID: 8968961
Filing Date: 2015-03-03
Classification: H01M,Y02E,Y02P

Abstract:
1. A scaled-up process for producing a proton-conducting membrane, said process comprising: mixing (i) 5% to 60% by volume of an electrically nonconductive inorganic powder having a good acid absorption capacity, the powder comprising essentially nanosize particles; (ii) 5% to 50% by volume of a polymeric binder that is chemically compatible with acid, oxidizer and fuel; (iii) 10 to 90% by volume of an aqueous acid solution or acid, and (iv) a rheology modifier; wherein said mixing is conducted at various rate steps, thereby producing a mixture; continuously casting said mixture over a roll to roll carrier support selected from rolled paper or a non-woven matrix, at ambient temperature; drying said casted mixture at a temperature of greater than 100° C. for about 5 to about 60 minutes, thereby forming a dry film; and laminating from 2 to 6 of said dry films together under pressure and thereafter extracting pore-former out of pores of the dry films; wherein said laminating is performed at a pressure in the range between about 5 to 20 kg/cm wherein said proton-conducting membrane has an average pore size of less than 30 nanometers; and wherein the scaled-up process preserves the conductivity properties of the proton-conducting membrane within a range of about 0.1-0.2 S/cm