An elastomeric cell frame for a fuel cell includes an insert which includes: a membrane electrode assembly including a polymer electrolyte membrane and a pair of electrode layers respectively disposed on opposite sides of the polymer electrolyte membrane; and a pair of gas diffusion layers disposed and bonded on upper and lower surfaces of the membrane electrode assembly, respectively. The insert further includes an elastomeric frame disposed in an external region of the insert. The elastomeric frame surrounds one of opposite edge surfaces of the insert and a side surface of the insert, the elastomeric frame being interface-bonded, through thermal bonding, to portions of the polymer electrolyte membrane and the electrode layers exposed at the one of opposite edge surfaces of the insert and the side surface of the insert.

Systems for creating electrodes for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells include an XY stage having a heated vacuum table physically coupled to the XY stage. The vacuum table has a working face with a plurality of channels formed therein to communicate vacuum pressure from a port coupled to a vacuum source to the channels. A sheet of perforated heat-conductive material has staggered holes configured to evenly distribute the vacuum pressure from the channels through the perforated sheet. A heat-conductive wire mesh is placed over the perforated sheet, and has openings smaller than the staggered holes such that a membrane material placed on the wire mesh is not deformed by the vacuum pressure. A nanopipette or micropipette coupled to a pump is configured to deposit electrode ink onto an exposed surface of the membrane material as the controller device causes the XY stage to move the vacuum table to control deposition of the electrode ink onto the surface of the membrane material.

Disclosed herein is a method of manufacturing a support for a catalyst of a fuel cell. The method may include preparing an admixture including a carbon material and a cerium precursor into a reactor, providing the admixture in a reactor, raising a temperature of the reactor to a predetermined temperature, and introducing water vapor into the reactor to perform an activation reaction of the carbon material.

Disclosed herein is a method of manufacturing a support for a catalyst of a fuel cell. The method may include preparing an admixture including a carbon material and a cerium precursor into a reactor, providing the admixture in a reactor, raising a temperature of the reactor to a predetermined temperature, and introducing water vapor into the reactor to perform an activation reaction of the carbon material.

The present invention provides a metal carbonitride comprising: i) a first metal, M.sup.1; and ii) a second metal, M.sup.2; wherein M.sup.1 is titanium, zirconium or hafnium; and M.sup.2 is vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, iron, ruthenium or osmium.

A gas diffusion layer, a preparation method therefor, a membrane electrode assembly and a fuel cell. The gas diffusion layer comprises gas diffusion layer substrates (41, 42) and a microporous layer slurry coated on the gas diffusion layer substrates (41, 42). An additive that contains catechol or contains a catechol structure compound is specifically added into the microporous layer slurry, and the additive is specifically dopamine hydrochloride.

Me-N—C catalysts, wherein Me can include a transition metal, Mn, Fe, Co, or a combination of metals with Me-INU moieties located at the exterior surface of the Me-N—C catalysts are produced by a chemical vapor deposition synthesis. The synthesis methods can utilize non-solid-contact pyrolysis wherein a metal salt can be vaporized. Gaseous metal from the vaporized metal salt can displace a metal M from the N—C zeolitic imidazolate framework. The non-solid-contact pyrolysis does not mix solid iron precursors (e.g., Me=Mn, Fe, or Co) with the solid N—C zeolitic imidazolate framework precursors during or before the synthesis, which improves the process compared to conventional methods.

Herein disclosed is a method of treating a component of a fuel cell, which includes the step of exposing the component of the fuel cell to a source of electromagnetic radiation (EMR). The component comprises a first material. The EMR has a wavelength ranging from 10 to 1500 nm and the EMR has a minimum energy density of 0.1 Joule/cm2. Preferably, the treatment process has one or more of the following effects: heating, drying, curing, sintering, annealing, sealing, alloying, evaporating, restructuring, foaming. In an embodiment, the substrate is a component in a fuel cell. Such component comprises an anode, a cathode, an electrolyte, a catalyst, a barrier layer, a interconnect, a reformer, or reformer catalyst. In an embodiment, the substrate is a layer in a fuel cell or a portion of a layer in a fuel cell or a combination of layers in a fuel cell or a combination of partial layers in a fuel cell.

Disclosed are a method for manufacturing an electrode, an electrode manufactured thereby, a membrane-electrode assembly including the electrode, and a fuel cell containing the membrane-electrode assembly. The method includes the steps of: preparing an electrode forming composition by mixing a catalyst with an ionomer; applying a low-frequency acoustic energy to the electrode forming composition to perform resonant vibratory mixing so as to coat the ionomer on the surface of the catalyst; and coating the electrode forming composition to manufacture an electrode.

Disclosed are a method for manufacturing an electrode, an electrode manufactured thereby, a membrane-electrode assembly including the electrode, and a fuel cell containing the membrane-electrode assembly. The method includes the steps of: preparing an electrode forming composition by mixing a catalyst with an ionomer; applying a low-frequency acoustic energy to the electrode forming composition to perform resonant vibratory mixing so as to coat the ionomer on the surface of the catalyst; and coating the electrode forming composition to manufacture an electrode.