Patent ID: 7090738

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a membrane electrode for a solid polymer fuel cell assembly which has a pair of positive and negative electrodes and a polymer electrolytic membrane sandwiched between the positive and negative electrodes, said method comprising the steps of: coating a base with a first polymer electrolytic solution to form a first polymer electrolytic membrane which is dried progressively from a portion therein close to the base and remains undried at least on the surface thereof; coating said first polymer electrolytic membrane, prior to drying the surface of said first polymer electrolytic membrane, with a first electrode dispersion, which comprises a second polymer electrolytic solution and a catalyst carried on a catalyst carrier and dissolved therein; drying said first electrode dispersion and said first polymer electrolytic membrane to form a first electrode, thereby forming a positive-electrode membrane electrode assembly which comprises the first polymer electrolytic membrane and the first electrode that are integrally joined to each other; coating a base with a third polymer electrolytic solution to form a second polymer electrolytic membrane which is dried progressively from a portion therein close to the base and remains undried at least on the surface thereof; coating said second polymer electrolytic membrane which is undried at least on the surface thereof with a second electrode dispersion, which comprises a fourth polymer electrolytic solution and a catalyst carried on a catalyst carrier and dissolved therein; drying said second electrode dispersion and said second polymer electrolytic membrane to form a second electrode, thereby forming a negative-electrode membrane electrode assembly which comprises the second polymer electrolytic membrane and the second electrode that are integrally joined to each other; peeling said positive-electrode membrane electrode assembly and said negative-electrode membrane electrode assembly off the respective bases; joining said first polymer electrolytic membrane and said second polymer electrolytic membrane to each other with a fifth polymer electrolytic solution interposed therebetween for thereby integrally combining said positive-electrode membrane electrode assembly and said negative-electrode membrane electrode assembly with each other.