The invention relates to an oxygen-consuming electrode, in particular for use in chloralkali electrolysis, comprising a catalyst coating based on carbon nanotubes, and to an electrolysis device. The invention further relates to a method for producing said oxygen-consuming electrode and to the use thereof in chloralkali electrolysis or fuel cell technology.

A process of producing a porous electrode substrate, including: dispersing first short carbon fibers and producing a first precursor sheet not having a three-dimensional entangled structure of the first short carbon fibers; treating the first precursor sheet such that the first short carbon fibers in the first precursor sheet are entangled and that a second precursor sheet having a three-dimensional entangled structure of the first short carbon fibers is obtained; dispersing second short carbon fibers on the second precursor sheet such that a porous electrode precursor sheet including the second precursor sheet and a third precursor sheet not having a three-dimensional entangled structure of the second short carbon fibers and stacked on the second precursor sheet is obtained; and carbonization treating the porous electrode substrate precursor sheet at a temperature of at least 1000° C. to obtain the porous electrode substrate.

A process of producing a porous electrode substrate, including: dispersing first short carbon fibers and producing a first precursor sheet not having a three-dimensional entangled structure of the first short carbon fibers; treating the first precursor sheet such that the first short carbon fibers in the first precursor sheet are entangled and that a second precursor sheet having a three-dimensional entangled structure of the first short carbon fibers is obtained; dispersing second short carbon fibers on the second precursor sheet such that a porous electrode precursor sheet including the second precursor sheet and a third precursor sheet not having a three-dimensional entangled structure of the second short carbon fibers and stacked on the second precursor sheet is obtained; and carbonization treating the porous electrode substrate precursor sheet at a temperature of at least 1000° C. to obtain the porous electrode substrate.

A separator includes a gas flow path forming body, which includes a substrate made of stainless steel, a resin layer arranged on the substrate, and a conductive layer arranged on the surface of the resin layer. The resin layer contains a filler, which has conductivity and greater hardness than an oxide film of the substrate. The conductive layer contains graphite. The filler extends through the oxide film of the substrate and contacts the base material.

A separator includes a gas flow path forming body, which includes a substrate made of stainless steel, a resin layer arranged on the substrate, and a conductive layer arranged on the surface of the resin layer. The resin layer contains a filler, which has conductivity and greater hardness than an oxide film of the substrate. The conductive layer contains graphite. The filler extends through the oxide film of the substrate and contacts the base material.

A method of manufacturing gas diffusion layers (GDL) with a defined pattern of hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions is used to produce electrically conductive porous materials with distributed wettability. The method includes a) Coating the external and internal surfaces of a porous base material made of carbon fiber or Titanium with Fluoroethylene-Propylene (FEP) and/or perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) and/or Ethylene-Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) or any other hydrophobic polymer; b) Exposing the coated material to irradiation through a blocking mask such that only parts of the coated porous material are exposed; and c) Immersing the previously exposed material in a monomer solution and heating to a temperature higher than 45° C., resulting in the graft co-polymerization of monomers on the FEP layer.

A method of manufacturing gas diffusion layers (GDL) with a defined pattern of hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions is used to produce electrically conductive porous materials with distributed wettability. The method includes a) Coating the external and internal surfaces of a porous base material made of carbon fiber or Titanium with Fluoroethylene-Propylene (FEP) and/or perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) and/or Ethylene-Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) or any other hydrophobic polymer; b) Exposing the coated material to irradiation through a blocking mask such that only parts of the coated porous material are exposed; and c) Immersing the previously exposed material in a monomer solution and heating to a temperature higher than 45° C., resulting in the graft co-polymerization of monomers on the FEP layer.

A method of preparing a porous carbon material is provided. The method comprises a) freezing a liquid mixture comprising a polymer suspended or dissolved in a solvent to form a frozen mixture; b) removing the solvent from the frozen mixture to form a porous frozen mixture; and c) pyrolyzing the porous frozen mixture to obtain the porous carbon material. A porous carbon material prepared using the method, and uses of the porous carbon material are also provided.

A porous carbon sheet contains carbon fiber and a binder, wherein the carbon sheet is characterized in that in a section from a plane having a 50% filling ratio closest to one surface to a plane having a 50% filling ratio closest to the other surface, when letting layer X be a layer with the largest filling ratio close to the one surface, layer Y be a layer with a filling ratio smaller than layer X close to the other surface, and layer Z be the layer positioned between layer X and layer Y for layers obtained by dividing the carbon sheet equally into three in a direction perpendicular to the surfaces, the filling ratio for the layers becomes smaller in order of layer X, layer Y, and layer Z.

A porous carbon sheet contains a carbon fiber and a binding material, wherein layers are obtained in a section spanning from a plane closest to one of the surfaces and having 50% of the mean fluorine intensity to a plane closest to the other surface and having 50% of the mean fluorine intensity by dividing this section evenly into three in an orthogonal direction to the carbon sheet plane; among the layer close to one of the surfaces and the layer close to the other surface, the layer having the larger layer mean fluorine intensity is designated layer X, the layer having the smaller one is designated layer Y, and the layer between the layer X and the layer Y is designated layer Z; and the layer mean fluorine intensities decrease in the order: layer X, layer Y, and layer Z.