The purpose of the present invention is to improve water drainage performance of a gas diffusion electrode including a carbon fiber nonwoven fabric. The present invention provides a gas diffusion electrode base material essentially consisting of a carbon fiber nonwoven fabric, wherein the carbon fiber nonwoven fabric has an in-plane basis weight pattern in which high basis weight regions having a relatively high basis weight and low basis weight regions having a relatively low basis weight are arranged, and the carbon fiber nonwoven fabric has on at least one surface an uneven pattern in which recesses and projections are arranged, the uneven pattern being formed independently of the basis weight pattern.

The purpose of the present invention is to improve water drainage performance of a gas diffusion electrode including a carbon fiber nonwoven fabric. The present invention provides a gas diffusion electrode base material essentially consisting of a carbon fiber nonwoven fabric, wherein the carbon fiber nonwoven fabric has an in-plane basis weight pattern in which high basis weight regions having a relatively high basis weight and low basis weight regions having a relatively low basis weight are arranged, and the carbon fiber nonwoven fabric has on at least one surface an uneven pattern in which recesses and projections are arranged, the uneven pattern being formed independently of the basis weight pattern.

Provided is a high-strength electromagnetic wave shielding sheet exhibiting an excellent electromagnetic wave shielding performance irrespective of the oscillation directions of millimeter waves and terahertz waves. The electromagnetic wave shielding sheet may, for example, be a sheet containing a carbon nanotube unwoven cloth that has a thickness of not larger than 1 mm, a specific resistance of not larger than 0.005 $2.Math.cm, and a longitudinal/lateral tensile strength ratio of 0.8 to 1.25; or a sheet with such carbon nanotube unwoven cloth being impregnated with a resin and/or with the resin being laminated on the carbon nanotube unwoven cloth.

Provided is a high-strength electromagnetic wave shielding sheet exhibiting an excellent electromagnetic wave shielding performance irrespective of the oscillation directions of millimeter waves and terahertz waves. The electromagnetic wave shielding sheet may, for example, be a sheet containing a carbon nanotube unwoven cloth that has a thickness of not larger than 1 mm, a specific resistance of not larger than 0.005 $2.Math.cm, and a longitudinal/lateral tensile strength ratio of 0.8 to 1.25; or a sheet with such carbon nanotube unwoven cloth being impregnated with a resin and/or with the resin being laminated on the carbon nanotube unwoven cloth.

A system that receives nanomaterials, forms nanofibrous materials therefrom, and collects these nanofibrous materials for subsequent applications. The system include a housing coupled to a synthesis chamber within which nanotubes are produced. A spindle may extend from within the housing, across the inlet, and into the chamber for collecting nanotubes and twisting them into a yarn. A body portion may be positioned at an intake end of the spindle. The body portion may include a pathway for imparting a twisting force onto the flow of nanotubes and guide them into the spindle for collection and twisting into the nanofibrous yarn. Methods and apparatuses for forming nanofibrous are also disclosed.

A system that receives nanomaterials, forms nanofibrous materials therefrom, and collects these nanofibrous materials for subsequent applications. The system include a housing coupled to a synthesis chamber within which nanotubes are produced. A spindle may extend from within the housing, across the inlet, and into the chamber for collecting nanotubes and twisting them into a yarn. A body portion may be positioned at an intake end of the spindle. The body portion may include a pathway for imparting a twisting force onto the flow of nanotubes and guide them into the spindle for collection and twisting into the nanofibrous yarn. Methods and apparatuses for forming nanofibrous are also disclosed.

A non-woven fabric is provided which includes a three-dimensional array of fibers. The three-dimensional array of fibers includes an array of standing fibers extending perpendicular to a plane of the non-woven fabric and attached to a base substrate, where the base substrate is one or more of an expendable film substrate, a metal base substrate, or a mandrel substrate. Further, the three-dimensional array of fibers includes multiple layers of non-woven parallel fibers running parallel to the plane of the non-woven fiber in between the array of standing fibers in a defined pattern of fiber layer orientations. In implementation, the array of standing fibers are grown to extend from the base substrate using laser-assisted chemical vapor deposition (LCVD).

An object of the present invention is to provide a carbon sheet to be used suitably for a gas diffusion electrode, in which the carbon sheet does not worsen the electrical resistance in the through-plane direction, and can be prevented from the deflection into the gas flow channels provided in the bipolar plate, although such characteristics. A carbon sheet according to the present invention, provided to achieve the above-described object, is a carbon sheet including a first surface and a second surface located at the opposite side to the first surface; wherein, assuming that a specific section is equally divided into 20 portions in the thickness direction to form 20 layers, the degree of fiber orientation of the first surface side outermost layer of the 20 layers is 1.20 or more and 3.00 or less; and wherein, assuming that a region composed of consecutive layers that are included in the 20 layers, and satisfy specific conditions is a first surface side region, and that a region composed of a layer(s) included in the 20 layers but not included in the first surface side region is a second surface side region, the thickness of the first surface side region is 40% or less of the thickness of the whole carbon sheet, and a difference between the average degree of fiber orientation of the second surface side region and the degree of fiber orientation of the first surface side outermost layer is larger than 0.10.

An object of the present invention is to provide a carbon sheet to be used suitably for a gas diffusion electrode, in which the carbon sheet does not worsen the electrical resistance in the through-plane direction, and can be prevented from the deflection into the gas flow channels provided in the bipolar plate, although such characteristics. A carbon sheet according to the present invention, provided to achieve the above-described object, is a carbon sheet including a first surface and a second surface located at the opposite side to the first surface; wherein, assuming that a specific section is equally divided into 20 portions in the thickness direction to form 20 layers, the degree of fiber orientation of the first surface side outermost layer of the 20 layers is 1.20 or more and 3.00 or less; and wherein, assuming that a region composed of consecutive layers that are included in the 20 layers, and satisfy specific conditions is a first surface side region, and that a region composed of a layer(s) included in the 20 layers but not included in the first surface side region is a second surface side region, the thickness of the first surface side region is 40% or less of the thickness of the whole carbon sheet, and a difference between the average degree of fiber orientation of the second surface side region and the degree of fiber orientation of the first surface side outermost layer is larger than 0.10.

A method of manufacturing a sheet molding compound, comprises (i) allowing short fiber bundles to fall onto a travelling carrier film, while dispersing the short fiber bundles using a dispersion roller device, thereby depositing a fiber mat on the carrier film, and (ii) impregnating the fiber mat with a thermosetting resin composition, wherein the dispersion roller device has a rotationally driven dispersion roll, bearings, a first side cover, and a second side cover, wherein the dispersion roll comprises a roll body and roll body-adjoining parts, and an inner circumferential surface of a circular opening provided in each of the first and second side covers and a cylindrical circumferential surface of each of the roll body-adjoining parts face each other.