Provided is a low-cost electrochemical element that includes a high-performance electrode layer. The electrochemical element includes an electrode layer, and the electrode layer contains small particles and large particles. The small particles have a particle diameter of 200 nm or less in the electrode layer, and the large particles have a particle diameter of 500 nm or more in the electrode layer.

The present invention relates to a catalyst for solid polymer fuel cells in which catalyst particles including platinum and a transition metal M are supported on a carbon powder carrier. The catalyst of the present invention is a catalyst for solid polymer fuel cells in which a molar ratio (Pt/M) of platinum to the transition metal M that form catalyst particles is 2.5 or more, and a ratio (S.sub.COMSA/S.sub.BET) of a platinum specific surface area (S.sub.COMSA) measured by a CO adsorption method to a catalyst specific surface area (S.sub.BET) measured by a BET method is 0.26 or more and 0.32 or less. The catalyst can be produced by preparing an alloy catalyst, then washing the alloy catalyst with a platinum compound solution, and additionally supplying platinum to the surfaces of catalyst particles.

This invention relates to aqueous ink compositions comprising an aqueous solvent, particles comprising a metal or a metal compound or a mixture thereof, a dispersant, preferably selected from an electrostatic dispersant, a steric dispersant, an ionic dispersant, a non-ionic dispersant or a combination thereof, a polymeric binder and a non-ionic surfactant which may be used for 3D inkjet printing components, primarily for high-temperature electrochemical devices.

A platinum/black phosphorus-carbon sphere methanol fuel cell anode catalyst and preparation method thereof including the following steps: (1) dispersing a black phosphorus solid in an organic solvent to obtain a single or a few layers of black phosphorus dispersion with set concentration; (2) mixing the dispersion with glucose and stirring until dissolved; (3) performing a hydrothermal reaction on the solution to obtain an aqueous solution of the composite material containing a carbon core black phosphorus shell structure; (4) uniformly mixing the aqueous solution with an ethylene glycol solution of sodium chloroplatinate, adjusting the pH, then reducing the platinum on the surface by using a microwave irradiation heating method; and (5) filtering, washing and drying the obtained composite material to obtain a platinum/black phosphorus-carbon sphere composite material. The composite material is applied to a direct methanol fuel cell anode catalyst, the catalytic and stability performance of which are greatly improved.

The present invention relates to a catalyst for a solid polymer fuel cell, including platinum, cobalt, and zirconium supported as a catalytic metal on a carbon powder carrier, in which the supporting ratio of platinum, cobalt, and zirconium on the carbon powder carrier is Pt:Co:Zr=3:0.5 to 1.5:0.1 to 3.0 by molar ratio. In the present invention, it is preferable that the peak position of Pt.sub.3Co seen in the X-ray diffraction pattern of catalyst particles is 2θ=41.10° or more and 42.00° or less, and moderate alloying has occurred in the catalytic metal.

A free-standing electrically conductive porous structure suitable to be used as a cathode of a battery, including an electrically conductive porous substrate with sulfur diffused into the electrically conductive porous substrate to create a substantially uniform layer of sulfur on a surface of the electrically conductive porous substrate. The free-standing electrically conductive porous structure has a high performance when used in a rechargeable battery. A method of manufacturing the electrically conductive porous structure is also provided.

Herein discussed is a method of heating a material having a surface comprising exposing the surface to an electromagnetic radiation source emitting a first wavelength spectrum; receiving a second wavelength spectrum from the surface using a detector at a sampling frequency; wherein the first wavelength spectrum and the second wavelength spectrum have no greater than 10% of overlap, wherein the overlap is the integral of intensity with respect to wavelength. In an embodiment, the first wavelength spectrum and the second wavelength spectrum have no greater than 5% of overlap or no greater than 3% of overlap or no greater than 1% of overlap or no greater than 0.5% of overlap. In an embodiment, exposing the surface to the radiation source causes the material to sinter at least partially.

A method for manufacturing a membrane electrode and gas diffusion layer assembly includes: applying a catalyst ink including an ionomer to a second surface of an electrolyte membrane while conveying a first sheet in which a first surface of the electrolyte membrane is supported by a back sheet; drying the catalyst ink by blowing air vibrated with ultrasonic waves onto a surface of the catalyst ink to produce a second sheet in which a catalyst layer is provided on the second surface of the electrolyte membrane; forming a first roll by winding the second sheet; and producing a third sheet by stacking a gas diffusion layer on the catalyst layer and pressing them in a stacking direction as heating to join the catalyst layer and the gas diffusion layer while conveying the second sheet unwound from the first roll.

A fuel cell catalyst and a method for manufacturing the same are disclosed. The fuel cell catalyst includes: a support including titanium suboxide and carbon; and an active material supported on the support and including iridium (Ir), ruthenium (Ru), and yttrium (Y). The active material is represented by the following Formula 1: [Formula 1] IrRu.sub.aY.sub.b, wherein a is between 1 and 5 (1≤a≤5), and b is between 0.1 and 2 (0.1≤b≤2).

A catalyst complex for fuel cells and a method for manufacturing an electrode including the same are disclosed. The catalyst complex for fuel cells, which is included in an electrode for fuel cells, includes a first catalyst configured to cause hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and a second catalyst configured to cause water electrolysis reaction, i.e., oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The outer surface of the first catalyst is coated with a first ionomer binder, the outer surface of the second catalyst is coated with a second ionomer binder, and an equivalent weight (EW) of the second ionomer binder differs from an equivalent weight (EW) of the first ionomer binder.