Membrane electrode continuous packaging process for packaging first and then spraying

Abstract

The invention discloses a membrane electrode continuous packaging process of packaging first and then spraying. The membrane electrode continuous packaging process comprises the following steps: covering the outer side of a base material of a membrane electrode sealing frame membrane with a layer of shielding membrane; and respectively laminating the adhesive surface of the backing film with the first mask and the second mask to obtain a first laminated film. Cutting the first mask and the second mask into the sizes corresponding to the membrane electrode active region, and removing the masks in other regions to expose the adhesive part of the backing membrane; laminating the cut first laminating film with the shielding film side to obtain a second laminating film, cutting the second laminating film according to a film electrode active area, and removing wastes to obtain an upper-layer frame film and a lower-layer frame film; and respectively laminating two sides of the proton membrane with the upper and lower layer frame membrane adhesive surfaces to obtain MEA-3. And for the MEA-3, removing the first mask, the second mask and the backing films on the surfaces of the upper-layer frame and the lower-layer frame, and spraying catalyst layers on the two sides. And after spraying, removing the shielding films on the outer surfaces of the frames on the two sides to obtain the packaged film electrode.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application belongs to the technical field of fuel cell manufacturing, and particularly relates to a membrane electrode continuous packaging process of pre-packaging and post-spraying. BACKGROUND

[0002] The membrane electrode is a key core component of a fuel cell and is a place where an electrochemical reaction of the fuel cell occurs. The membrane electrode packaging refers to a process of integrating components (catalyst-coated membrane, sealing frame, gas diffusion layer) of the membrane electrode into a whole component. The packaging technology plays an extremely important role in the sealing and reliability of the membrane electrode and is a key technical bottleneck affecting high-throughput production and manufacturing of the membrane electrode.

[0003] A traditional membrane electrode preparation process usually adopts a method of first spraying catalyst on both sides of a proton exchange membrane to form a catalyst-coated membrane (referred to as CCM), and then placing an adhesive-coated polyester film (sealing frame) on both sides of the catalyst-coated membrane and bonding by pressing. The traditional membrane electrode preparation method has the advantages of easy implementation of the spraying link, but has the following problems: Since the proton exchange membrane is thin (material thickness is about 8-20 μm) and sensitive to temperature and humidity, the proton membrane is prone to wrinkle during packaging with the sealing frame and is not easy to flatten. This not only affects the packaging accuracy of the membrane electrode, but also causes defects such as wrinkles, bubbles and poor adhesion during the packaging process of the membrane electrode, which seriously affects the quality and packaging reliability of the membrane electrode.

[0004] When the CCM is prepared first and then packaged, there is a positioning deviation in the CCM spraying and frame packaging process. In order to ensure that the active area of the membrane electrode is covered with catalyst, the catalyst coating area is usually larger than the frame window area during the spraying process, which causes a part of the adhesive layer to be pasted with the catalyst layer during the frame adhesive layer packaging process, and affects the packaging strength of the frame to some extent. SUMMARY

[0005] The application aims to overcome the defects of the prior art and provides a membrane electrode continuous packaging process of pre-packaging and post-spraying, which aims to solve the problems of wrinkles of the proton membrane and pasting of the frame overlap area with the catalyst layer during the packaging process of the membrane electrode, and can realize continuous production and manufacturing.

[0006] The application achieves the above-mentioned purpose by the following technical scheme: A membrane electrode continuous packaging process of pre-packaging and post-spraying, comprising: covering a shielding film on the outer side of the base material of the sealing frame film of the membrane electrode; The adhesive side of the base film is laminated with the first mask and the second mask respectively to obtain the first laminated film. The exposed side of the first mask includes the first coating, and the exposed side of the second mask includes the second coating. The first composite film is cut to cut out the size of the first mask and the second mask corresponding to the active area of ​​the membrane electrode, and the remaining mask area is removed to expose the adhesive portion of the base film; The cut composite film is laminated with the frame material to obtain a second composite film. The second composite film is cut according to the active area of ​​the membrane electrode, and the waste material after cutting is removed to obtain an upper frame film and a lower frame film. The proton exchange membrane was laminated to the upper and lower border membranes on both sides to obtain MEA-3; MEA-3 is placed on the spraying equipment and adsorbed onto the platform. First, the base film and the first mask of the upper frame film are removed, and the first catalytic layer is sprayed. Then, MEA-3 is flipped over, adsorbed onto the platform, and the base film and the second mask of the lower frame film are removed, and the second catalytic layer is sprayed.

[0007] After the spraying is completed, the masking film on the outer surface of the two side frames is removed to obtain the encapsulated membrane electrode.

[0008] Furthermore, the masking film includes silicone, acrylic adhesive, or EVA adhesive.

[0009] Furthermore, the surface coatings of the first and second masks include silicone, acrylic adhesive, electrostatic adsorption coating, polypropylene or polyethylene coating.

[0010] Furthermore, the method involves cutting the first composite film using a circular die-cutting method.

[0011] Furthermore, the method involves applying a masking film to the outside of the roll of the sealing frame film of the membrane electrode by roller bonding.

[0012] Furthermore, the method uses a rolling process to coat the adhesive surface of the base film with the first mask and the second mask.

[0013] Furthermore, the method also includes: In the frame membrane that is laminated with the proton exchange membrane, the surface coatings of the first mask exposed surface of the upper frame membrane and the second mask exposed surface of the lower frame membrane are treated separately so that the adhesion properties of the first mask and the second mask exposed surface to the proton exchange membrane are different.

[0014] The beneficial effects of this application are as follows: (1) The encapsulation method used in this application can ensure that the proton exchange membrane is always supported by a bottom film throughout the entire production process, thus avoiding the defects in membrane electrode encapsulation quality caused by wrinkles and deformation of the proton exchange membrane during the production process.

[0015] (2) The production method of encapsulation followed by coating adopted in this application can ensure that the adhesive layer in the bonding area of ​​the anode and cathode edges is completely bonded to the white edge of the CCM (pure proton membrane) and will not come into contact with the catalyst layer, which can improve the strength of the membrane electrode encapsulation and ensure the quality of the membrane electrode encapsulation.

[0016] (3) In the product packaging process, this application adopts a method of differentiating masks on both sides of the anode and cathode to ensure that when a protective film is peeled off, the proton membrane and the mask on the other side are flat. During the spraying process, the proton membrane can be flat and the surface of the catalyst layer is free of cracks after spraying.

[0017] (4) In the process of implementing the process provided in this application, a masking film is added to the outer side of the sealing frame substrate. After spraying, the masking film is removed, which can ensure that the catalyst sputtered to the outer surface of the membrane electrode frame during the spraying process is peeled off together. There is no catalyst residue on the outer surface of the actual product, ensuring the product has a beautiful appearance. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a process flow diagram of an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the membrane electrode encapsulation process according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The following specific examples illustrate the implementation of this application. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of this application from the content disclosed in this specification. This application can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of this application. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.

[0020] Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0021] Traditional membrane electrode fabrication methods have the following problems: Because proton exchange membranes are relatively thin (approximately 8-20 μm thick) and highly sensitive to temperature and humidity, wrinkles easily appear on the proton exchange membrane during the same-frame membrane encapsulation process, making it difficult to flatten. This not only affects the encapsulation precision of the membrane electrode but also leads to defects such as wrinkles, bubbles, and poor adhesion during the membrane electrode encapsulation process, severely impacting the quality and reliability of the membrane electrode.

[0022] When using a processing method that involves preparing the CCM first and then encapsulating it, there are positioning deviations during both the CCM spraying and frame encapsulation processes. To ensure that the active areas of the membrane electrode are covered by the catalyst, the area of ​​the catalyst coating area is often larger than the window area of ​​the frame during the spraying process. This results in a portion of the adhesive layer sticking to the catalyst layer during the frame adhesive layer encapsulation process, which will affect the encapsulation strength of the frame to some extent.

[0023] To address the aforementioned technical problems, the following embodiments of a continuous encapsulation process for membrane electrodes, involving pre-encapsulation followed by spraying, are proposed in this application.

[0024] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 ,like Figure 1 The diagram shown is a process flow chart of an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 The diagram shown is a schematic diagram of the membrane electrode encapsulation process according to an embodiment of this application.

[0025] The continuous encapsulation process for membrane electrodes, which involves encapsulation followed by coating, provided in this embodiment includes the following steps: Step 1: A plastic adhesive film (hereinafter referred to as a masking film) is applied to the outside of the substrate of the membrane electrode sealing frame on one side by roller bonding. This film is used to mask the catalyst sprayed on the frame surface during the membrane electrode spraying process. The adhesive surface of the plastic adhesive film includes, but is not limited to, silicone, acrylic, and EVA adhesive.

[0026] Step Two: A plastic film with adhesive backing (hereinafter referred to as the backing film) is laminated with the plastic side of a plastic film with a specially treated surface (hereinafter referred to as the first mask) by a rolling process to form a composite film structure, exposing the specially treated surface. The specially treated surface of the mask is coated with a coating, including but not limited to silicone, acrylic adhesive, electrostatic adsorption coating, polypropylene, and polyethylene coating.

[0027] Step 3: Cut the composite film using a circular die-cutting method. Use a half-cutting method to cut the mask to the size corresponding to the active area of ​​the membrane electrode, and remove the remaining mask area to expose the adhesive part of the base film.

[0028] Step 4: Laminate the cut material with the frame material using a roll forming method. After lamination, cut the active area of ​​the frame material in the same way, with the size and position of the active area consistent with the size and position of the mask mentioned above. Remove the waste material from the active area of ​​the frame after cutting.

[0029] Step 5: The other side of the frame is processed in the same way as steps 1-4. It should be noted that the exposed surface coating of the mask on the other side of the frame (hereinafter referred to as the second mask) undergoes special treatment to make its adhesion to the proton exchange membrane different from that of the first mask surface. This facilitates maintaining good adhesion between the proton exchange membrane and the other side mask when peeling off one side of the mask.

[0030] Step 6: After removing the release film from the adhesive side of one side of the frame membrane, expose the adhesive side and laminate it with the proton exchange membrane.

[0031] Step 7: After removing the release film from the adhesive side of the other side frame, the adhesive side is exposed. The upper and lower frame layers are then laminated to form a sandwich laminated structure (hereinafter referred to as MEA-3).

[0032] Step 8: Place the laminated MEA-3 on the spraying equipment and attach it to the platform. Remove the backing film of the upper frame film and the first mask (the side with weaker mask adhesion) and spray the catalyst layer on one side.

[0033] Step 9: After completing the first side catalyst layer spraying, flip MEA-3 over and attach it to the platform. Remove the other side base film and the second mask, and then spray the other side catalyst layer.

[0034] Step 10: After spraying, remove the masking film from the outer surface of the membrane on both sides of the frame to form the final encapsulated membrane electrode product.

[0035] The encapsulation method used in this embodiment ensures that the proton exchange membrane is always supported by a base film throughout the entire production process, thus avoiding defects in membrane electrode encapsulation quality caused by wrinkles and deformation of the proton exchange membrane during production.

[0036] The pre-encapsulation followed by coating production method adopted in this embodiment can ensure that the adhesive layer in the bonding area of ​​the anode and cathode edges is completely bonded to the white edge of the CCM (pure proton exchange membrane) and will not come into contact with the catalyst layer. This can improve the strength of the membrane electrode encapsulation and ensure the quality of the membrane electrode encapsulation.

[0037] In this embodiment, a differentiated mask method is used on both the anode and cathode sides during the product packaging process. This ensures that when one protective film is peeled off, the proton exchange membrane adheres smoothly to the mask on the other side. This ensures that the proton exchange membrane remains smooth during the spraying process and that there are no cracks on the surface of the catalyst layer after spraying.

[0038] In the process provided in this embodiment, a masking film is added to the outer side of the sealing frame substrate. After spraying, the masking film is removed to ensure that the catalyst sputtered onto the outer surface of the membrane electrode frame during the spraying process is also peeled off. There is no catalyst residue on the outer surface of the actual product, ensuring the product has an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

[0039] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and is not intended to limit this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A continuous encapsulation process for membrane electrodes, characterized by pre-encapsulation followed by spray coating, wherein... include: A shielding film is coated on the outside of the substrate of the sealing frame membrane of the membrane electrode; The adhesive side of the base film is laminated with the first mask and the second mask respectively to obtain the first laminated film. The exposed side of the first mask includes the first coating, and the exposed side of the second mask includes the second coating. The first composite film is cut to cut out the size of the first mask and the second mask corresponding to the active area of ​​the membrane electrode, and the remaining mask area is removed to expose the adhesive part of the base film. The first composite film after cutting is laminated with the shielding film side of the sealing frame film to obtain the second composite film. The second composite film is cut according to the active area of ​​the membrane electrode, and the waste material after cutting is removed to obtain the upper frame film and the lower frame film. The proton exchange membrane was laminated to the upper and lower border membranes on both sides to obtain MEA-3; MEA-3 is placed on the spraying equipment and adsorbed onto the platform. First, the base film and the first mask of the upper frame film are removed, and the first catalytic layer is sprayed. Then flip MEA-3 over, adsorb it onto the platform, remove the bottom film and the second mask of the lower frame film, and spray the second catalytic layer. After the spraying is completed, the masking film on the outer surface of the two side frames is removed to obtain the encapsulated membrane electrode product.

2. The continuous encapsulation process for membrane electrodes with pre-encapsulation followed by spraying as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The masking film includes silicone, acrylic adhesive, or EVA adhesive.

3. The continuous encapsulation process for membrane electrodes with pre-encapsulation followed by spraying as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The surface coatings of the first and second masks include silicone, acrylic adhesive, electrostatic adsorption coating, polypropylene or polyethylene coating.

4. The continuous encapsulation process for membrane electrodes with pre-encapsulation followed by spraying as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first composite film is cut using a circular die-cutting method.

5. The continuous encapsulation process for membrane electrodes with pre-encapsulation followed by spraying as described in claim 1, characterized in that, A masking film is applied to the outside of the substrate of the sealing frame membrane of the membrane electrode by roller bonding.

6. The continuous encapsulation process for membrane electrodes with pre-encapsulation followed by spraying as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The adhesive surface of the base film is laminated with the first and second masks by rolling.

7. The continuous encapsulation process for membrane electrodes with pre-encapsulation followed by spraying as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: In the frame membrane that is laminated with the proton exchange membrane, the surface coatings of the first mask exposed surface of the upper frame membrane and the second mask exposed surface of the lower frame membrane are treated separately so that the adhesion properties of the first mask and the second mask exposed surface to the proton exchange membrane are different.

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