US2011311900A1PendingUtilityA1

Electrochemical device configurations

55
Individually held — no corporate assignee on recordPriority: Jun 10, 2003Filed: Mar 30, 2011Published: Dec 22, 2011
Est. expiryJun 10, 2023(expired)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Inventors:Adam BlakeTao Tao
H01M 8/0289H01M 8/0236H01M 8/22H01M 8/0247H01M 6/42H01M 8/0271H01M 4/9033H01M 4/9041H01M 8/04089H01M 2004/8684H01M 8/0252H01M 8/2484Y02E60/50
55
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Claims

Abstract

The present invention generally relates to electrochemical devices such as fuel cells and, in particular, to various component configurations including configurations for converting common fuels directly into electricity without additional fuel reforming or processing. Certain aspects of the invention are generally directed to configurations in which an anode of the device surrounds the electrolyte and/or the cathode of the device. In some embodiments, all single cells in a fuel cell stack share a common anode fuel chamber. The anode, in some cases, may be exposed to a fuel. In one set of embodiments, the anode of the device may be fluid during operation of the fuel cell, and in some cases, a porous container may be used to contain the anode during operation of the fuel cell. Other aspects of the invention relate to methods of making such devices, methods of promoting the making or use of such devices, and the like.

Claims

exact text as granted — not AI-modified
1 - 35 . (canceled) 
     
     
         36 . An electrochemical device, comprising:
 an anode, a portion of which is fluid during operation of the electrochemical device;   a porous container able to contain the fluid portion of the anode therein during operation of the electrochemical device, wherein a fuel external to the device is able to pass through the porous container;   an electrolyte at least partially contained within the anode; and   a cathode at least partially contained within the electrolyte.   
     
     
         37 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the electrochemical device is a fuel cell. 
     
     
         38 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the electrochemical device is a battery. 
     
     
         39 . The electrochemical device of  claim 38 , wherein the battery can be converted into a fuel cell by supplying a fuel to the electrochemical device. 
     
     
         40 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the electrochemical device produces electricity in the absence of the fuel by oxidizing the anode and the electrochemical device produces electricity in the presence of fuel without anode consumption. 
     
     
         41 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the anode is chemically rechargeable. 
     
     
         42 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the anode comprises a metal. 
     
     
         43 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the anode comprises at least one metal selected from the group consisting of copper, molybdenum, mercury, iridium, palladium, antimony, rhenium, bismuth, platinum, silver, arsenic, rhodium, tellurium, selenium, osmium, gold, lead, germanium, tin, indium, thallium, cadmium, gadolinium, chromium nickel, iron, tungsten, vanadium, manganese, cobalt, and zinc. 
     
     
         44 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the anode comprises at least one metal selected from the group consisting of antimony, indium, tin, bismuth, mercury, and lead. 
     
     
         45 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the porous container has an air permissivity of at least about 0.1 cm 3 /min cm/psi. 
     
     
         46 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the porous container has a porosity of at least about 50%. 
     
     
         47 . The electrochemical device of  claim 45 , wherein the porous container has a porosity of at least about 75%. 
     
     
         48 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the porous container has an average pore size of no more than about 300 micrometers. 
     
     
         49 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the porous container has an average pore size of between about 50 micrometers and about 200 micrometers. 
     
     
         50 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the porous container has an average pore size of no more than about 100 micrometers. 
     
     
         51 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the porous container comprises a ceramic. 
     
     
         52 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the porous container comprises Al 2 O 3 . 
     
     
         53 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the porous container comprises ZrO 2 . 
     
     
         54 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the porous container comprises alumina silicate. 
     
     
         55 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the electrolyte is a solid-state electrolyte. 
     
     
         56 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the electrolyte comprises a ceramic. 
     
     
         57 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the electrolyte is able to transport O 2− . 
     
     
         58 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the electrolyte comprises a yttria-stabilized zirconia. 
     
     
         59 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the cathode contains therein a channel able to transport a gas. 
     
     
         60 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the cathode comprises a ceramic. 
     
     
         61 . The electrochemical device of  claim 36 , wherein the cathode comprises a lanthanum-strontium-manganese oxide.

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