JP7781189B2 - Electrode transfer method and electrode positioning jig - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an electrode transfer method and an electrode positioning jig.

It has been known that catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs), in which an anode electrode and a cathode electrode are arranged and transferred onto both sides of a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, are used for water electrolysis and other purposes (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-176300

When a catalyst-coated membrane (CCM) is used for water electrolysis, it may be constructed in a cylindrical shape to increase the gas pressure. In this case, the anode electrode and cathode electrode must be positioned in corresponding positions with the solid polymer electrolyte membrane sandwiched between them, but because this is done visually, it can be difficult to accurately position them.

(1) The present invention relates to an electrode transfer method for transferring an electrode (e.g., electrode 2) composed of a circular anode electrode (e.g., anode electrode 21) and a cathode electrode (e.g., cathode electrode 22) having a through hole (e.g., through holes 21a, 22a) formed in the center to a solid polymer electrolyte membrane (e.g., solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3), the method including a first secondary material installation step (e.g., first secondary material installation step S1) of inserting a shaft member (e.g., shaft member 11) into a secondary material (e.g., secondary material 4) to install the secondary material. an anode electrode positioning jig installation step (e.g., anode electrode positioning jig installation step S2) of inserting the shaft member into an anode electrode positioning jig (e.g., anode electrode positioning jig 12); an anode electrode installation step (e.g., anode electrode installation step S3) of installing the anode electrode around the anode electrode positioning jig; a solid polymer electrolyte membrane installation step (e.g., solid polymer electrolyte membrane installation step S4) of removing the anode electrode positioning jig and installing the solid polymer electrolyte membrane on the anode electrode around the shaft member; a cathode electrode positioning jig installation step (e.g., cathode electrode positioning jig installation step S5) of inserting the shaft member into a cathode electrode positioning jig (e.g., cathode electrode positioning jig 13) on the solid polymer electrolyte membrane; and a cathode electrode installation step (e.g., cathode electrode installation step S6) of installing the cathode electrode around the cathode electrode positioning jig. the electrode transfer method includes a second secondary material installation step (e.g., second secondary material installation step S6) in which the cathode electrode positioning jig is removed and the secondary material is installed on the cathode electrode by inserting the shaft member into the secondary material; a shaft member removal step (e.g., shaft member removal step S8) in which the shaft member is removed; and a hot pressing step (e.g., hot pressing step S9) in which the electrode is sandwiched from the outside of the secondary material and heated and pressurized after the shaft member removal step.

(2) It is preferable that the secondary materials include a cushioning material (e.g., cushioning material 41) and a release material (e.g., release material 42).

(3) The present invention relates to an electrode positioning jig (electrode positioning jig 1) used in the electrode transfer method described in (1) or (2) above, the positioning jig comprising the anode electrode positioning jig, the cathode electrode positioning jig, and the shaft member, and the anode electrode positioning jig and the cathode electrode positioning jig each have a through hole (e.g., through holes 12a, 13a) formed in their center, through which the shaft member can be concentrically inserted.

(4) It is preferable that the thickness dimension of the anode electrode positioning jig be greater than the thickness dimension of the anode electrode, and that the thickness dimension of the cathode electrode positioning jig be greater than the thickness dimension of the cathode electrode.

According to (1) above, by using anode electrode positioning jigs and cathode electrode positioning jigs that are inserted into the shaft member and are based on the inner circumference of the electrodes, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the transfer position of the anode electrode and cathode electrode, which are arranged on either side of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane.

According to (2) above, by sandwiching the electrode between the secondary materials, pressure is more easily applied evenly to the electrode and the electrode can be protected.

According to (3) above, the annular electrode can be aligned concentrically with the shaft member and then removed, allowing for highly accurate alignment.

According to (4) above, the anode electrode positioning jig is thicker than the anode electrode, and the cathode electrode positioning jig is thicker than the cathode electrode. This makes it easy to remove the anode electrode positioning jig and the cathode electrode positioning jig after fitting them into the through holes of the anode electrode and the cathode electrode. This makes positioning easy and efficient.

FIG. 2 is a development view showing the electrode positioning jig of the present embodiment. 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating a first subsidiary material installation step of the electrode transfer method of the present embodiment. 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating an anode electrode positioning jig installation step and an anode electrode installation step in the electrode transfer method of the present embodiment. 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating a solid polymer electrolyte membrane installation step in the electrode transfer method of the present embodiment. 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating a cathode electrode positioning jig installation step and a cathode electrode installation step in the electrode transfer method of the present embodiment. 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating a second auxiliary material installation step in the electrode transfer method of the present embodiment. 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating a shaft member removing step and a hot pressing step in the electrode transfer method of the present embodiment.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1 , the electrode transfer method of this embodiment is performed using an electrode positioning jig 1 (hereinafter also referred to as positioning jig 1). In the electrode transfer method, an electrode 2 and a solid polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) 3 are placed between secondary materials 4, and a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is formed while the electrode position is determined using the positioning jig 1. The use of the positioning jig 1 is not particularly limited as long as it is used to transfer the electrode 2 to the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3 and form the membrane electrode assembly. For example, the electrode transfer method and positioning jig 1 of this embodiment may be used in the process of producing a catalyst-coated electrolyte membrane (CCM) for applications such as water electrolysis and PEM pumps.

The electrode 2 is a catalyst layer composed of an anode electrode 21 and a cathode electrode 22, each of which has a through-hole 21a, 22a formed in its center and is coated on substrates 211, 221 to form a circular ring shape. The anode electrode 21 may use, for example, a Ru (ruthenium)-based catalyst, and the cathode electrode 22 may use, for example, a platinum catalyst. The substrates 211, 221 can be, for example, Teflon (registered trademark) sheets.

The solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3 may be a membrane having sulfonic acid groups, such as perfluorosulfonic acid. The solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3 has a through-hole 3a formed therein, through which the shaft member 11 (described below) is inserted. The through-hole 3a has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the shaft member 11, allowing the shaft member 11 to be inserted therethrough.

The secondary material 4 includes, for example, a cushioning material 41 and a release material 42 .
The buffer material 41 is disposed for the purpose of equalizing the voltage across the electrode 2. As the buffer material 41, a bulky, breathable sheet-like material is preferably used, and may be, for example, Fuwatlite (registered trademark).
The release material 42 is a sheet-like member used to prevent adhesion between the buffer material 41 and the electrode 2. The release material 42 may be a sheet coated with a release agent, for example, a fluororesin. The release material 42 is disposed between the buffer material 41 and the electrode 2.
The cushioning material 41 and the release material 42 have through holes 41a, 42a through which the shaft member 11 described below is inserted. The through holes 41a, 42a have an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the shaft member 11 so that the shaft member 11 can be inserted. Note that the secondary material 4 is omitted in Fig. 1 .

As shown in Figure 1, the positioning jig 1 has a shaft member 11, an anode electrode positioning jig 12, and a cathode electrode positioning jig 13 (see Figure 2D), and is positioned at the center of the anode electrode 21 and the cathode electrode 22. The positioning jigs 1 may each be made of stainless steel.

The shaft member 11 is a cylindrical member that can be inserted through the centers of the through-holes 21a, 22a of the anode electrode 21 and cathode electrode 22 and the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3, and is a so-called knock pin.

As shown in Figure 1, the anode electrode positioning jig 12 is a cylindrical member with a through hole 12a formed in its center. The outer diameter of the anode electrode positioning jig 12 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the through hole 21a of the anode electrode 21, so that the jig can be inserted through the through hole 21a. The outer diameter of the through hole 12a is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the shaft member 11, so that the shaft member 11 can be inserted through the through hole 12a. The thickness of the anode electrode positioning jig 12 is greater than the thickness of the anode electrode 21.

As shown in Figure 1, the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 is a cylindrical member with a through hole 13a formed in its center. The outer diameter of the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the through hole 22a of the cathode electrode 22, so that the jig can be inserted through the through hole 22a. The outer diameter of the through hole 13a is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the shaft member 11, so that the shaft member 11 can be inserted through the through hole 13a. The thickness of the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 is greater than the thickness of the anode electrode 21.

The anode electrode positioning jig 12 and the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 are positioned so that the shaft member 11 is inserted concentrically through the through holes 12a, 13a. The outer diameters and thicknesses of the anode electrode positioning jig 12 and the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 may be the same or different. In this embodiment, comparing Figures 2B and 2D, the anode electrode positioning jig 12 has a smaller outer diameter and is thicker than the cathode electrode positioning jig 13. The dimensions of the anode electrode positioning jig 12 and the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 are set appropriately depending on the shape of the through holes 12a, 13a in the electrode 2 and the thickness of the electrode 2.

An electrode transfer method using the positioning jig 1 of this embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2A, a release material 42 is laid on a cushioning material 41, and the shaft member 11 is inserted at a position determined as the center, and the secondary material 4 is placed (first secondary material placing step S1).

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the shaft member 11 is inserted into the through-hole 12a of the anode electrode positioning jig 12, and the anode electrode positioning jig 12 is installed (anode electrode positioning jig installation step S2).

Next, the anode electrode 21 is installed by fitting the anode electrode positioning jig 12 into the through-hole 21a of the anode electrode 21, with the anode electrode positioning jig 12 at the center (anode electrode installation process S3).

Next, as shown in FIG. 2C, the anode electrode positioning jig 12 is removed from the state shown in FIG. 2B. Then, while the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3 is placed on top of the anode electrode 21, the shaft member 11 is inserted into the through-hole 3a of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3, and the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3 is installed with the shaft member 11 at the center (solid polymer electrolyte membrane installation step S4).

Next, as shown in FIG. 2D, the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 is installed on the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3 by inserting the shaft member 11 into the through-hole 13a of the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 (cathode electrode positioning jig installation step S5).

Next, the cathode electrode 22 is installed by fitting the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 into the through-hole 22a of the cathode electrode 22, with the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 at the center (cathode electrode installation process S6).

Next, as shown in Figure 2E, the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 is removed from the state shown in Figure 2D. Then, the secondary material 4 is installed above the cathode electrode 22 by inserting the shaft member 11 through the central through-holes 42a, 41a of the release material 42 and the buffer material 41 (second secondary material installation step S7).

Next, as shown in FIG. 2F, the shaft member 11 is removed (shaft member removing step S8).
Then, after the shaft member removal process S8, the secondary material 4, the anode electrode 21, the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3, the cathode electrode 22 and the secondary material 4 are stacked together, and the electrode 2 is sandwiched between the secondary material 4 and heated and pressurized from the outside (hot pressing process S9).

According to this embodiment, the following effects are achieved.
(1) An electrode transfer method for transferring an electrode 2 composed of an annular anode electrode 21 and a cathode electrode 22 having through holes 21a, 22a formed in the center to a solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3 includes a first secondary material installation step S1 of installing the secondary material 4 by inserting a shaft member 11 into the secondary material 4, an anode electrode positioning jig installation step S2 of inserting the shaft member 11 into the anode electrode positioning jig 12, an anode electrode installation step S3 of installing the anode electrode 21 around the anode electrode positioning jig 12, and a solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3 of installing the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3 on the anode electrode 21 around the shaft member 11. The process includes an electrolyte membrane installation step S4, a cathode electrode positioning jig installation step S5 of inserting the shaft member 11 into the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 on the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3, a cathode electrode installation step S6 of installing the cathode electrode 22 around the cathode electrode positioning jig 13, a second secondary material installation step S7 of removing the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 and installing the secondary material 4 on the cathode electrode 22 by inserting the shaft member 11 into the secondary material 4, a shaft member removal step S8 of removing the shaft member 11, and a hot press step S9 of sandwiching the electrodes from the outside of the secondary material 4 and applying heat and pressure after the shaft member removal step S8.
By using an anode electrode positioning jig 12 and a cathode electrode positioning jig 13 that are inserted into the shaft member 11 and are based on the inner circumference of the electrode 2, the accuracy of the transfer position of the anode electrode 21 and the cathode electrode 22 that are arranged on either side of the solid polymer electrolyte membrane 3 can be improved.

(2) According to this embodiment, the secondary material 4 includes the buffer material 41 and the release material 42 .
By sandwiching the electrode 2 between the secondary materials 4, pressure can be applied to the electrode 2 more evenly and the electrode 2 can be protected.

(3) According to this embodiment, the electrode positioning jig 1 used in the electrode transfer method described in (1) or (2) above is configured to include an anode electrode positioning jig 12, a cathode electrode positioning jig 13, and a shaft member 11. The anode electrode positioning jig 12 and the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 are configured so that through holes 12a, 13a, through which the shaft member 11 can be concentrically inserted, are formed in their centers.
The annular electrode 2 can be aligned concentrically with the shaft member 11 and then pulled out, so that highly accurate alignment can be achieved.

(4) According to this embodiment, the thickness dimension of the anode electrode positioning jig 12 is greater than the thickness dimension of the anode electrode 21, and the thickness dimension of the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 is greater than the thickness dimension of the cathode electrode 22.
Because the anode electrode positioning jig 12 is thicker than the anode electrode 21 and the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 is thicker than the cathode electrode 22, the anode electrode positioning jig 12 and the cathode electrode positioning jig 13 can be easily removed after being fitted into the through holes 21 a, 22 a of the anode electrode 21 and the cathode electrode 22. This makes positioning easy and efficient.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Positioning jig 2 Electrode 3 Solid polymer electrolyte membrane 4 Secondary material 11 Shaft member 12 Positioning jig for anode electrode 12a Through-hole 13 Positioning jig for cathode electrode 13a Through-hole 21 Anode electrode 21a Through-hole 22 Cathode electrode 22a Through-hole 41 Cushioning material 42 Mold release material

Claims (4)

1. An electrode transfer method for transferring an electrode composed of a circular anode electrode and a cathode electrode having a through-hole formed in the center to a solid polymer electrolyte membrane, comprising:
a first secondary material installation step of inserting a shaft member into the secondary material to install the secondary material;
an anode electrode positioning jig installation step of inserting the shaft member into the anode electrode positioning jig;
an anode electrode installation step of installing the anode electrode around the anode electrode positioning jig;
a solid polymer electrolyte membrane installation step of removing the anode electrode positioning jig and installing the solid polymer electrolyte membrane on the anode electrode with the shaft member as the center;
a cathode electrode positioning jig installation step of inserting the shaft member into a cathode electrode positioning jig on the solid polymer electrolyte membrane;
a cathode electrode installation step of installing the cathode electrode around the cathode electrode positioning jig;
a second secondary material installation step of removing the cathode electrode positioning jig and installing the secondary material on the cathode electrode by inserting the shaft member through the secondary material;
a shaft member removing step of removing the shaft member;
the electrode transfer method further comprising, after the shaft member removing step, a hot pressing step of sandwiching the electrode between the secondary material from the outside and applying heat and pressure thereto. The electrode transfer method according to claim 1, wherein the secondary materials include a cushioning material and a release material. 3. An electrode positioning jig used in the electrode transfer method according to claim 1 or 2, comprising:
the positioning jig includes the anode electrode positioning jig, the cathode electrode positioning jig, and the shaft member;
The anode electrode positioning jig and the cathode electrode positioning jig each have a through hole formed in the center thereof, through which the shaft member can be concentrically inserted. the thickness dimension of the anode electrode positioning jig is greater than the thickness dimension of the anode electrode;
4. The electrode positioning jig according to claim 3, wherein the thickness of the cathode electrode positioning jig is greater than the thickness of the cathode electrode.