Microporous Metal Gas Diffusion Layer for Low-Resistance Electrolysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional titanium fiber felt gas diffusion layers in SPE cells exhibit poor fluid diversion effects and low contact efficiency due to scrambled internal voids and cluttered surface microstructures, leading to high contact surface resistance and reduced electrolysis efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A new gas diffusion layer is prepared by creating elongated recesses on a metal sheet, stacking and cutting it to form a metal block with regular pore structures, and applying surface coating treatments, resulting in a flat surface with regularly distributed micropores for improved contact and fluid diversion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If titanium fiber felt is formed by lapping and sintering, then the gas diffusion layer can be manufactured, but the internal voids become scrambled and fluid diversion effect deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The gas diffusion layer is segmented into multiple thin metal sheets (3-10 sheets) stacked together, each sheet containing elongated recesses. This segmentation allows the formation of regular pore structures through controlled stacking, replacing the scrambled voids of traditional fiber felt while maintaining manufacturability through standardized sheet processing.
Solution Approach 2:
Elongated recesses are preliminarily formed on each metal sheet before stacking, creating predetermined regular pore structures. This preliminary action ensures that the internal voids are organized in a regular pattern from the outset, preventing the scrambled structure characteristic of conventional lapping and sintering methods.
2Strength
If titanium fiber felt is used as gas diffusion layer, then the structure can support the membrane electrode, but the surface microstructure becomes cluttered and contact efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The metal sheets are provided with elongated recesses that create locally optimized surface structures. The flat surfaces between recesses provide stable contact areas with the membrane electrode, while the recesses form regular pores for fluid diversion. This local quality differentiation resolves the contradiction between structural support and surface regularity.
Solution Approach 2:
The regular pore structure is created by copying the pattern of elongated recesses across multiple identical metal sheets. This copying approach ensures consistent surface microstructure and regular pore geometry, eliminating the cluttered surface microstructure of traditional fiber felt while maintaining structural integrity.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional titanium fiber felt is used, then the gas diffusion layer can be formed, but the contact surface resistance increases and electrolysis efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The gas diffusion layer is constructed as a composite structure of multiple thin metal sheets stacked together, forming a new material system with combined properties. This composite structure provides both mechanical strength for supporting the membrane electrode and regular pore structures for efficient fluid diversion, thereby reducing contact surface resistance and improving electrolysis efficiency while maintaining ease of manufacture.
4Manufacturing precision
If metal sheets are stacked to form regular pore structures, then fluid diversion efficiency improves, but the manufacturing process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process is segmented into independent steps: forming elongated recesses on individual metal sheets, cutting sheets to shape, and stacking sheets with precise alignment. This segmentation of the manufacturing process makes the creation of regular pore structures more manageable and less complex than attempting to form the entire structure in a single step.
Solution Approach 2:
The elongated recesses are preliminarily formed on each metal sheet before stacking, creating ready-to-assemble components with predetermined pore structures. This preliminary preparation reduces the complexity of the final assembly process, as the regular pore structure is already established in each sheet rather than requiring complex in-situ formation during stacking.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are a gas diffusion layer and a preparation method therefor, which comprises the following steps: S1: providing elongated recesses in parallel on a side surface of a metal sheet; S2: cutting the metal sheet provided with the elongated recesses into a desired shape; S3: stacking a plurality of cut metal sheets such that adjacent metal sheets are tightly attached and firmly connected to form a metal block having regular pore structures; and S4: cutting the metal block along a cross section of the metal block, where the cutting thickness matches the thickness of the desired gas diffusion layer, and a cut sheet structure with micropores being regularly distributed on the surface is used as the gas diffusion layer. The present invention can solve the problems that titanium fiber felts in the prior art have poor diversion performance, low contact efficiency and large contact surface resistance.