Integrated membrane electrode preparation device and preparation method

Abstract

The invention discloses a preparation device for an integrated membrane electrode, a turntable is arranged on a frame, a lower mold is arranged on the turntable, a lifting drive mechanism is arranged on the frame, an upper mold is connected to the lifting drive mechanism, the upper mold and the lower mold are arranged opposite to each other up and down, a feed port is arranged on the upper mold, a sealing cavity is arranged on the lower mold, a positioning cavity is arranged on the sealing cavity, a vacuum adsorption mechanism is arranged in the positioning cavity, and a heating mechanism is arranged around the positioning cavity; a preparation method for an integrated membrane electrode is also disclosed, wherein the electrode product is pre-pressed to form an electrode product; the electrode product is placed; the vacuum adsorption mechanism makes the electrode product close to the positioning cavity; the turntable rotates to rotate the lower mold to the bottom of the upper mold, and the upper mold moves downward to close the mold; liquid silicone is injected into the feed port; after the liquid silicone solidifies, the upper mold moves upward to open the mold; and the electrode product on each lower mold is injected one by one. The invention has the advantages of being able to realize continuous, automated and rapid production of membrane electrodes, high production efficiency, and good sealing effect of finished products.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of membrane electrode preparation equipment, and in particular to a preparation device and a preparation method for an integrated membrane electrode. Background Art

[0002] Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are the most mature power generation devices in the world that use the reverse reaction principle of water electrolysis, renewable energy hydrogen as a reducing agent, and oxygen in the air as an oxidant to convert chemical energy into electrical energy. Unlike ordinary batteries, they seal chemical reactants inside the battery, and cannot continuously output electrical energy when the reactants are exhausted. Fuel cells only need to continuously provide fuel gas and oxidants to continuously output electrical energy. Therefore, locomotives powered by fuel cells have obvious advantages such as short refueling time and high cruising range. Its power generation stack has the advantages of small size, high energy density, zero emissions, and air purification. The hydrogen-rich water generated by the reaction has antioxidant effects and is beneficial to the recovery of the body.

[0003] A fuel cell stack is composed of multiple single cells connected in series and stacked together. The bipolar plates and membrane electrodes are alternately overlapped and sealed, and are pressed and fixed by the front and rear end plates and compensation devices to form a proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack. However, in the existing membrane electrode process, two frames are manually fixed to the front and rear sides of the proton membrane, and then two carbon papers are respectively bonded to the surfaces of the two frames, and finally the sealing lines are bonded to the anode and cathode. However, this processing technology has complex steps, high labor costs, and low production efficiency. In addition, the carbon paper is easily detached by bonding to the proton membrane, and the upper and lower sealing lines are easily misaligned, resulting in the problem of easy failure of the seal, and the structure of the membrane electrode is unstable. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an integrated membrane electrode preparation device and preparation method, which can realize continuous automated rapid production of membrane electrodes, high production efficiency and good sealing effect of finished products.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, one aspect of the present invention provides an integrated membrane electrode preparation device, including a frame, a turntable, a rotary drive mechanism, a lifting drive mechanism and a heating mechanism. The turntable is arranged on the frame and driven to rotate by the rotary drive mechanism. The top surface of the turntable is evenly spaced along the circumferential direction. A plurality of lower molds are arranged. The lifting drive mechanism is arranged on the frame. The power output end of the lifting drive mechanism is connected to an upper mold and drives the upper mold to move up and down. The upper mold and the lower mold are arranged opposite to each other in the upper and lower directions. The upper mold is provided with a feed port for liquid silicone injection, and the lower mold is provided with an edge sealing cavity. A positioning cavity for placing an electrode product is provided in the middle of the edge sealing cavity. A vacuum adsorption mechanism is provided at the bottom of the positioning cavity. The heating mechanism is arranged around the positioning cavity.

[0006] As a preferred solution for the integrated membrane electrode manufacturing device, the depth of the edge sealing cavity is greater than the depth of the positioning cavity.

[0007] As a preferred solution for the integrated membrane electrode preparation device, the vacuum adsorption mechanism includes a vacuum channel and a vacuum pump. The vacuum channel is arranged at the bottom of the positioning cavity, and the vacuum channel is connected to the vacuum pump.

[0008] As a preferred solution for the integrated membrane electrode preparation device, the heating mechanism includes a heating wire and a mold heater, a heating channel for installing the heating wire is provided on the groove wall of the positioning cavity, and the heating wire and the mold heater are electrically connected.

[0009] As a preferred solution for the integrated membrane electrode preparation device, the rotary drive mechanism is a rotary cylinder, the cylinder body of the rotary cylinder is fixed on the frame, and the rotary head of the rotary cylinder is connected to the turntable.

[0010] As a preferred solution for the preparation device of integrated membrane electrode, the lifting drive mechanism includes a fixed seat, a guide rail, a slider and a motor. The fixed seat is fixed on the frame, the guide rail is fixed on the fixed seat and is vertically arranged, the slider can be moved up and down on the guide rail, the upper mold is connected to the slider, the upper mold is connected to the fixed seat through a screw and nut pair, and the screw and nut pair is connected to the motor.

[0011] As a preferred solution for the integrated membrane electrode preparation device, the lower mold is provided with a plurality of guide holes, and the upper mold is provided with a plurality of guide posts engaged with the guide holes.

[0012] As a preferred solution of the integrated membrane electrode preparation device, it also includes a controller, which is electrically connected to the rotation drive mechanism, the lifting drive mechanism, the heating mechanism and the vacuum adsorption mechanism respectively.

[0013] Another aspect of the present invention also provides a method for preparing an integrated membrane electrode, comprising the following steps:

[0014] Step 1: pre-pressing the cathode gas diffusion layer, cathode frame, membrane assembly, anode frame and anode gas diffusion layer to form an electrode product;

[0015] Step 2: Place the electrode product into the positioning cavity of each lower mold;

[0016] Step 3: The controller controls the vacuum adsorption mechanism to start, so that the back side of the cathode gas diffusion layer or the anode gas diffusion layer is closely attached to the bottom of the positioning cavity;

[0017] Step 4: The controller controls the rotary drive mechanism to start, the rotary drive mechanism drives the turntable to rotate, and rotates a lower mold to the bottom of the upper mold. The controller controls the lifting drive mechanism to start, and the lifting drive mechanism drives the upper mold to move downward to achieve mold closing. After the mold closing, the electrode product is compacted;

[0018] Step 5: Inject liquid silicone into the feed port so that the liquid silicone fills the edge sealing cavity to seal the electrode product;

[0019] Step 6: After the liquid silicone solidifies, the controller controls the vacuum adsorption mechanism to close and the lifting drive mechanism to open, and the lifting drive mechanism drives the upper mold to move upward to open the mold, so that the electrode product is injection molded to form a membrane electrode;

[0020] Step 7: Repeat steps 4 to 6 to complete the injection molding of each electrode product on the lower mold one by one.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the manufacturing device and method of the integrated membrane electrode according to the embodiment of the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

[0022] The present invention places the electrode product in a lower mold and then performs injection molding into a positioning cavity from an upper mold, thereby completing the processing of the electrode product, thereby realizing automated production of membrane electrodes, with high production efficiency and low labor costs; and the electrode product is sealed by injection molding, the finished product has a good sealing effect, the edge sealing is not prone to failure, and the structure of the membrane electrode is stable; wherein, the present invention can ensure that the liquid silicone can completely cover the electrode product through the provision of a heating mechanism, effectively preventing the liquid silicone from solidifying during flow and causing incomplete coverage; in addition, the present invention can achieve continuous and rapid production through the provision of an upper mold and multiple lower molds, thereby further improving production efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of a device for preparing an integrated membrane electrode provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 This is the installation diagram of the lower mold;

[0025] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure when the upper mold and the lower mold are molded together;

[0026] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the lower mold;

[0027] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of the electrode product;

[0028] In the figure, 1. frame; 2. turntable; 3. lifting drive mechanism; 4. lower mold; 5. upper mold; 6. feed port; 7. edge sealing cavity; 8. positioning cavity; 9. vacuum channel; 10. guide hole; 11. heating channel; 12. electrode product; 13. cathode gas diffusion layer; 14. cathode frame; 15. membrane assembly; 151. cathode catalyst layer; 152. proton exchange membrane; 153. anode catalyst layer; 16. anode frame; 17. anode gas diffusion layer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The specific implementation of the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and examples. The following examples are used to illustrate the present invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0030] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and the like used in the present invention to indicate the orientation or position relationship is based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operate in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0031] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown, one aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides a preferred embodiment of an integrated membrane electrode preparation device, which includes a frame 1, a turntable 2, a rotary drive mechanism, a lifting drive mechanism 3 and a heating mechanism, wherein the turntable 2 is arranged on the frame 1 and driven to rotate by the rotary drive mechanism, and a plurality of lower molds 4 are evenly spaced along the circumferential direction on the top surface of the turntable 2, and the lifting drive mechanism 3 is arranged on the frame 1, and the power output end of the lifting drive mechanism 3 is connected to an upper mold 5 and drives the upper mold 5 to move up and down, and the upper mold 5 and the lower mold 4 are arranged opposite to each other up and down, and the upper mold 5 is provided with a feed port 6 for liquid silicone injection on the upper mold 5, and the lower mold 4 is provided with an edge sealing cavity 7, and a positioning cavity 8 for placing an electrode product 12 is provided in the middle of the edge sealing cavity 7, and a vacuum adsorption mechanism is provided at the bottom of the positioning cavity 8, and the heating mechanism is arranged around the positioning cavity 8, wherein the depth of the edge sealing cavity 7 is greater than the depth of the positioning cavity 8.

[0032] The present invention places the electrode product 12 in the lower mold 4 and then performs injection molding into the positioning cavity 8 from the upper mold 5, thereby completing the pre-pressing of the electrode product 12, thereby realizing the automated production of the membrane electrode, with high production efficiency and low labor cost; and the electrode product 12 is sealed by injection molding, the finished product has a good sealing effect, the edge sealing is not easy to fail, and the structure of the membrane electrode is stable; wherein, the present invention can ensure that the liquid silicone can completely cover the electrode product 12 through the setting of a heating mechanism, and effectively prevent the liquid silicone from solidifying during flowing and causing incomplete coverage; in addition, the present invention realizes continuous and rapid production through the setting of an upper mold 5 and multiple lower molds 4, thereby further improving production efficiency.

[0033] Exemplarily, the vacuum adsorption mechanism includes a vacuum channel 9 and a vacuum pump, wherein the vacuum channel 9 is arranged at the bottom of the positioning cavity 8, and the vacuum channel 9 is connected to the vacuum pump; thus, such a design forms a negative pressure in the vacuum channel 9, thereby adsorbing the electrode product 12 in the positioning cavity 8, without pressing the electrode product 12 to cause deformation of the electrode product 12, nor affecting the injection molding of the electrode product 12, and at the same time can fix the electrode product 12 well in the positioning cavity 8.

[0034] Exemplarily, the heating mechanism includes a heating wire and a mold heater. A heating channel 11 for installing the heating wire is provided on the groove wall of the positioning cavity 8, and the heating wire and the mold heater are electrically connected; thus, the heating wire can heat the injected liquid silicone, thereby ensuring that the liquid silicone can completely cover the electrode product 12, effectively preventing the liquid silicone from solidifying while flowing and causing incomplete coverage.

[0035] Exemplarily, the rotary drive mechanism is a rotary cylinder, the cylinder body of the rotary cylinder is fixed on the frame 1, and the rotary head of the rotary cylinder is connected to the turntable 2; thereby, the rotation of the turntable 2 can be automatically controlled.

[0036] Exemplarily, the lifting drive mechanism 3 includes a fixed seat, a guide rail, a slider and a motor, the fixed seat is fixed on the frame 1, the guide rail is fixed on the fixed seat and is vertically arranged, the slider can be movably arranged on the guide rail up and down, the upper mold 5 is connected to the slider, the upper mold 5 is connected to the fixed seat through a screw and nut pair, and the screw and nut pair is connected to the motor; therefore, when the motor is turned on, the screw that drives the screw and nut pair rotates to drive the nut of the screw and nut pair to move, so that the upper mold 5 moves up and down along the length direction of the guide rail under the action of the nut.

[0037] Exemplarily, the lower mold 4 is provided with a plurality of guide holes 10, and the upper mold 5 is provided with a plurality of guide columns engaged with the guide holes 10; thereby, the upper mold 5 and the lower mold 4 can be aligned and closed, ensuring the closing accuracy, improving the closing speed, and achieving high production efficiency.

[0038] The integrated membrane electrode preparation device also includes a controller, which is electrically connected to the rotation drive mechanism, the lifting drive mechanism 3, the heating mechanism and the vacuum adsorption mechanism respectively; thereby, the automated production of the electrode product 12 is achieved and the labor intensity of the workers is reduced.

[0039] It should also be noted that when preparing the electrode product 12, the electrode product 12 can be placed by a robot and liquid silicone can be injected by an injection machine, thereby realizing fully automated production of the electrode product 12 with a high degree of automation, high production efficiency and low labor costs.

[0040] like Figure 5 As shown, another aspect of the embodiment of the present invention is based on the above-mentioned integrated membrane electrode preparation device and also provides a preferred embodiment of the integrated membrane electrode preparation method, including the following steps: Step 1: pre-pressing the cathode gas diffusion layer, cathode frame, membrane assembly, anode frame and anode gas diffusion layer to form an electrode product; Step 2: placing the electrode product 12 into the positioning cavity 8 of each lower mold 4; Step 3: the controller controls the vacuum adsorption mechanism to start, so that the back of the cathode gas diffusion layer 13 or the anode gas diffusion layer 17 is close to the bottom of the positioning cavity 8; Step 4: the controller controls the rotary drive mechanism to start, the rotary drive mechanism drives the turntable 2 to rotate, and rotates a lower mold 4 to the bottom of the upper mold 5, and the controller controls the lifting drive mechanism 3 to start, and the lifting drive mechanism 3 Drive the upper mold 5 to move downward to achieve mold closing; Step 5: Inject liquid silicone into the feed port 6 to fill the edge sealing cavity 7 with liquid silicone to seal the electrode product 12; Step 6: After the liquid silicone solidifies, the controller controls the vacuum adsorption mechanism to close and the lifting drive mechanism 3 to open, and the lifting drive mechanism 3 drives the upper mold 5 to move upward to achieve mold opening, so that the electrode product 12 is injection molded to form a membrane electrode; Step 7: Repeat steps 4 to 6 to complete the injection molding of each electrode product 12 on the lower mold 4 one by one; Specifically, the membrane assembly 15 includes a cathode catalyst layer 151, a proton exchange membrane 152 and an anode catalyst layer 153; Therefore, the preparation method of the integrated membrane electrode has all the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned integrated membrane electrode preparation device, which are not stated one by one here.

[0041] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installation", "connection" and "connection" used in the present invention should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0042] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and substitutions can be made without departing from the technical principles of the present invention. These improvements and substitutions should also be regarded as the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An integrated membrane electrode preparation device, characterized in that: The invention comprises a frame, a turntable, a rotary drive mechanism, a lifting drive mechanism and a heating mechanism, wherein the turntable is arranged on the frame and driven to rotate by the rotary drive mechanism, a plurality of lower molds are evenly spaced along the circumferential direction on the top surface of the turntable, the lifting drive mechanism is arranged on the frame, a power output end of the lifting drive mechanism is connected to an upper mold and drives the upper mold to move up and down, and the upper mold and the lower mold are arranged opposite to each other up and down, the upper mold is provided with a feeding port for liquid silicone injection, the lower mold is provided with an edge sealing cavity, a positioning cavity for placing an electrode product is provided in the middle of the edge sealing cavity, a vacuum adsorption mechanism is provided at the bottom of the positioning cavity, and the heating mechanism is arranged around the positioning cavity.

2. The integrated membrane electrode manufacturing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The depth of the edge sealing cavity is greater than the depth of the positioning cavity.

3. The integrated membrane electrode manufacturing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacuum adsorption mechanism comprises a vacuum channel and a vacuum pump. The vacuum channel is arranged at the bottom of the positioning cavity, and the vacuum channel is connected to the vacuum pump.

4. The integrated membrane electrode manufacturing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heating mechanism comprises a heating wire and a mold heater. A heating channel for installing the heating wire is provided on the groove wall of the positioning cavity. The heating wire and the mold heater are electrically connected.

5. The integrated membrane electrode manufacturing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotary drive mechanism is a rotary cylinder, a cylinder body of the rotary cylinder is fixed on the frame, and a rotary head of the rotary cylinder is connected to the turntable.

6. The integrated membrane electrode manufacturing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting drive mechanism includes a fixed seat, a guide rail, a slider and a motor. The fixed seat is fixed on the frame, the guide rail is fixed on the fixed seat and is vertically arranged, the slider is movably arranged on the guide rail, the upper mold is connected to the slider, the upper mold is connected to the fixed seat through a screw and nut pair, and the screw and nut pair is connected to the motor.

7. The integrated membrane electrode manufacturing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lower mold is provided with a plurality of guide holes, and the upper mold is provided with a plurality of guide posts engaged with the guide holes.

8. The integrated membrane electrode manufacturing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The device also includes a controller, which is electrically connected to the rotation drive mechanism, the lifting drive mechanism, the heating mechanism and the vacuum adsorption mechanism respectively.

9. The method for preparing an integrated membrane electrode according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The steps include: Step 1: pre-pressing the cathode gas diffusion layer, cathode frame, membrane assembly, anode frame and anode gas diffusion layer to form an electrode product; Step 2: Place the electrode product into the positioning cavity of each lower mold; Step 3: The controller controls the vacuum adsorption mechanism to start, so that the back side of the cathode gas diffusion layer or the anode gas diffusion layer is closely attached to the bottom of the positioning cavity; Step 4: The controller controls the rotary drive mechanism to start, the rotary drive mechanism drives the turntable to rotate, and rotates a lower mold to the bottom of the upper mold. The controller controls the lifting drive mechanism to start, and the lifting drive mechanism drives the upper mold to move downward to achieve mold closing. Step 5: Inject liquid silicone into the feed port so that the liquid silicone fills the edge sealing cavity to seal the electrode product; Step 6: After the liquid silicone solidifies, the controller controls the vacuum adsorption mechanism to close and the lifting drive mechanism to open, and the lifting drive mechanism drives the upper mold to move upward to open the mold, so that the electrode product is injection molded to form a membrane electrode; Step 7: Repeat steps 4 to 6 to complete the injection molding of each electrode product on the lower mold one by one.

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