A fuel cell comprised of a proton conductive electrolyte film sandwiched between a pair of catalyst layers, wherein the catalyst layer of at least the cathode is comprised of a mixture including a catalyst ingredient, an electrolytic material, and a carbon material, the carbon material is comprised of a catalyst-carrying carbon material carrying the catalyst ingredient and a gas-diffusing carbon material not carrying the catalyst ingredient, and the catalyst-carrying carbon material has an amount of adsorption of water vapor at 25° C. and a relative humidity of 90% of 50 ml/g or more.

A membrane electrode includes a first electrode, a second electrode, and a proton exchange membrane sandwiched between the first electrode and the second electrode. The first electrode includes a first gas diffusion layer and a first catalyst layer. The second electrode includes a second gas diffusion layer and a second catalyst layer. The first catalyst layer or the second catalyst layer includes a carbon nanotube-metal particle composite including carbon nanotubes, polymer layer, and metal particles. The polymer layer is coated on a surface of the carbon nanotubes and defines a plurality of pores uniformly distributed; the metal particles are located in the pores. A fuel cell including the membrane electrode is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a secondary aluminum-air electrochemical cell. Therefore, the invention may be framed within the energy storage sector and, in particular, the sector of technologies and industries that require energy accumulators.

The invention includes a method of making a catalytic electrode for a metal-air cell in which a carbon-catalyst composite is produced by heating a manganese compound in the presence of a particulate carbon material to form manganese oxide catalyst on the surfaces of the particulate carbon, and then adding virgin particulate carbon material to the carbon-catalyst composite to produce a catalytic mixture that is formed into a catalytic layer. A current collector and an air diffusion layer are added to the catalytic layer to produce the catalytic electrode. The catalytic electrode can be combined with a separator and a negative electrode in a cell housing including an air entry port through which air from outside the container can reach the catalytic electrode.

Provided is an oxygen reduction catalyst having a high oxygen reduction performance. An oxygen reduction catalyst according to the present embodiment includes a transition metal oxide to which an oxygen defect is introduced, and a layer that is provided on the transition metal oxide and that contains an electron conductive substance. A method for producing an oxygen reduction catalyst according to the present embodiment includes heating a transition metal carbonitride as a starting material in an oxygen-containing mixed gas. In addition, a method for producing an oxygen reduction catalyst according to the present embodiment includes heating a transition-metal phthalocyanine and a carbon fiber powder as starting materials in an oxygen-containing mixed gas.

The invention relates to a method for electrochemical reduction of oxygen in alkaline media, a catalyst comprising nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) having nanoparticles located on their surface being used.

A multi-faceted zinc-air electrochemical cell design holistically leverages interactions between components, especially with respect to conductive carbons from differing sources, lamination and the resulting impact it has on the air electrode's surface and other additives that impact the relative hydrophilicity of the membrane and/or performance of the anode, to improve the overall reliability and performance of the resulting battery.

A fuel cell includes a proton-exchange membrane, and a cathode and anode fixed on its opposite sides. The anode delimits a flow conduit between a molecular-oxygen inlet area and a water outlet area. The cathode includes a support for catalyst material. The support has first and second materials to which catalyst is fixed, the first material being a graphitized material. The second material has a resistance to corrosion by oxygen that is greater than that of the first material. A quantity of the second material at the inlet area is greater than a quantity of the second material at the water outlet. The cathode comprises a first layer including the first material and a second layer including the second material. A thickness of the second layer decreases between the molecular-oxygen inlet area and the water outlet area.

A catalyst layer for a fuel cell, wherein the catalyst layer comprises a catalyst-supporting carbon and an ionomer; wherein, in a particle size distribution obtained by the laser diffraction/scattering method, the catalyst-supporting carbon has at least two aggregate particle size peaks at less than 1 μm and at 1 μm or more; wherein, when a thickness of the catalyst layer is divided into three equal parts, the catalyst layer has a first region on a gas diffusion layer side, a second region in a middle part, and a third region on an electrolyte membrane side; and wherein a void ratio V.sub.G of the first region is 5% or more higher than a void ratio V.sub.M of the third region.

A method for preparing M-N—C catalytic material utilizing ball-milling with or without the addition of a sacrificial support.