The RysenTech ultrasonic coating system is ideally suited for coating carbon based catalyst inks onto electrolyte membranes used for hydrogen production.
The PEM electrolyzer coating system is fully automated, capable of two-sided coating and can apply different catalyst formulations to each side of the film. The durability and repeatability of the coating has proven to be superior to other coating methods, thus extending the life of the coated PEM.
RysenTech has a wide range of specialty coated PEM electrolyzers such as Nafion with excellent control of coating properties to create the most uniform and efficient coating for electrolysis applications.
2、Fuel Cell
Create durable, uniform thin film fuel cell catalyst coatings for PEM, CCM, MEA and GDL manufacturing
RysenTech’s fuel cell catalyst coating systems are particularly well suited for these challenging applications by creating highly uniform, repeatable and durable coatings. From development to production, our non-clogging technology allows for better control of coating properties, significantly reduced material usage, and reduced maintenance and downtime.
RysenTech ultrasonic coating systems produce highly durable, uniform carbon-based catalyst ink coatings during electrolysis in fuel cells and proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers such as Nafion, without distorting the film. Homogeneous catalyst coatings are deposited on PEM fuel cells, GDLs, electrodes, various electrolyte membranes and solid oxide fuel cells with suspensions containing carbon black inks, PTFE binders, ceramic pastes, platinum and other precious metals. Other metal alloys, including platinum, nickel, iridium and ruthenium-based fuel cell catalyst coatings for metal oxide suspensions, can be applied using ultrasonic spraying for the manufacture of PEM fuel cells, polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolytic cells, DMFC (direct methanol fuel cells) and SOFC (solid oxide fuel cells) to achieve maximum loading and high cell efficiency. Studies have proven that the utilization of platinum in films sprayed with ultrasound is about 90%. The catalyst solution does not clog the ultrasonic nozzle, resulting in a homogeneous, homogeneous fuel cell catalyst coating with controlled droplet size from ultra-low flow rates to production-scale flow rates. In addition, RysenTech ultrasonic nozzles are ideally suited for spraying polymer solutions such as PTFE binders onto GDLs to enhance hydrophilic or hydrophobic properties during electrolysis.
Benefits of ultrasonic nozzles for spraying fuel cell catalyst inks.
– Extremely high platinum utilization demonstrated in MEA manufacturing; up to 90%.
– Highly porous coating is very durable and prevents catalyst layer cracking or flaking.
– Saves up to 50% material consumption and expensive catalyst inks by reducing overspray
– Clean, precise spray shapes that are easy to mold and suitable for a wide range of applications
– Highly controllable spray that produces reliable, consistent results
– Non-clogging atomized spray that won’t deflect.
– Ultra-low flow rate capability, intermittent or continuous.
– Ultrasonic vibration constantly breaks up clumped particles and keeps them uniformly dispersed; maximizes the use of platinum.
– Ability to coat PEMs with very small liquid sample sizes (only 10 ml of catalyst solution is needed to coat multiple PEMs). Ideal for the R&D phase.
Due to continuous ultrasonic vibrations along the length of the nozzle, the RysenTech ultrasonic nozzle breaks up agglomerates as it travels down the body of the nozzle, resulting in the most efficient use of functional particles. The use of ultrasonic spraying breaks down agglomerates into uniformly dispersed catalyst layers, resulting in improved electrochemical performance and higher repeatability of the functional coating.
3、Solar cell
Uniform coating of active layer of thin film solar cells
Ultrasonic spray technology has proven successful in depositing anti-reflective layers, TCO coatings, buffer layer coatings, PEDOT and active layer coatings for thin film solar cells in thin film and calcium titanite solar cell manufacturing.OPV, CIG, CdTE, CzTs, calcium titanite and DSC are some of the solutions that can be deposited using ultrasonic wet spray technology in the manufacture of thin film solar cells and suspensions. At a fraction of the cost of CVD and sputtering equipment, ultrasonic atomizing nozzle systems reduce the cost per watt of manufacturing thin film solar cells while still providing high cell efficiency.
RysenTech ultrasonic sprayers are a fraction of the cost of sputtering and CVD equipment, and many systems are used in the development of chalcogenide coating and other thin-film solar manufacturing applications. Ultrasonic coating technology continues to gain acceptance as a viable method for scaling up to larger size and higher capacity thin film solar manufacturing. rysenTech has been instrumental in translating proven R&D processes into high volume manufacturing operations for many different layers and types of solar cell technologies and coatings for thin film solar cells.
Quantum Dots
Nanocrystalline semiconductor dots contain Zn, Pb, Cd, Se. Advantages of ultrasonic coating include significantly lower capital equipment costs for initial investment, depolymerization of suspended particles during the coating process, proven scalable production solutions for migration from R&D to production volumes through in-line processing, and up to 95% transfer efficiency, reducing consumption of expensive raw materials.
Buffer Layer/Organic Layer
Typical materials RysenTech coating equipment is used for.
– CdS – buffer layers commonly used in CIGS, CDTe cells
– Organic cell polymers – PEDOT, PCBM, P3HT, P3HD
TCO layers
TCO (transparent conductive oxide) consists of metals dissolved in solution with high electrical conductivity and transparency. They are sometimes applied at high temperatures for pyrolysis reactions and often require high temperature annealing at approximately 500 degrees Celsius. TCO layers that require high temperatures are typically coated using spray pyrolysis techniques.
RysenTech spray coating equipment is used for.
– ZnO (doped with Ga, Al, In)
– Cadmium oxide
– Tin dioxide
Carbon nanotubes / silver nanowires (AGNW) / graphene
Carbon nanotubes have the potential to replace ITO in TCO layers due to their abundant raw material, excellent static friction and very high electrical conductivity. RysenTech ultrasonic nozzles offer tremendous benefits in depositing these nanomaterials due to the depolymerization of the particles during atomization. Ultrasonic vibrations cause uniform particle distribution in the solution.
Anti-Reflection (AR) Coating
AR coatings can increase cell efficiency by 3-4%.RysenTech offers coating systems for deposition of
– Silicon dioxide
– Titanium Dioxide
– Other formulations
4. Carbon nanotubes, carbon nanowires and other nanomaterials
Homogeneous thin film layers of functional nanomaterials
RysenTech ultrasonic nanomaterial coating system is particularly suitable for spraying nanosuspensions such as CNT, nanowires, chalcogenides, graphene, etc. Due to the inherent ultrasonic vibration of the nozzle, the energy breaks down agglomerated particles in the suspension and the liquid is subjected to continuous mechanical vibration throughout the coating process without damaging the material. This is particularly beneficial in cases where a uniform dispersion of functional nanoparticles is required. In contrast, other spraying techniques are unable to disperse agglomerates and tend to clog. Nanomaterial coatings benefit from the use of ultrasonic spray equipment to spray nanosuspensions in a variety of ways.
– The ability to spray ultra-thin conductive layers with the desired electrical and transparent properties
– Uniform distribution of nanoparticles on the substrate to maximize material utilization
– Targeted, low-speed spraying rarely leads to overspray of expensive materials
– Ultrasonic coating systems offer greater flexibility, controllability and cost effectiveness than other deposition methods such as dipping, spin coating and conventional spraying.
– Depending on the nozzle frequency used, droplet sizes as small as 13 microns can be selected.
– The programmable XYZ coating system offers a complete solution for your coating process, from R&D lab scale to volume production.
– Fine line or wide area nano-coating.
Examples of commonly sprayed nanomaterial applications.
– Deposition of CNTs (carbon nanotubes), nanowires, chalcogenides, graphene in uniformly thin coatings for alternative energy, electronics, semiconductor or medical applications.
– Spraying catalyst inks, such as carbon black and platinum solutions, in fuel cell manufacturing.
– Protection and reinforcement applications using graphene or carbon nanotubes.
– Various nanomaterials for EMI shielding.
– Creating transparent conductive coatings.
– Deposition of uniform nanowires or graphene films in advanced electronics applications.
RysenTech ultrasonic coating systems are used to deposit coatings with uniform nanolayer thickness on substrates of any width. The ability to produce these very thin and uniform coatings even on very wide widths makes ultrasonic coating technology particularly suitable for many precision nanotechnology coating applications.
5. Spray pyrolysis and TCO
Ultrasonic spray pyrolysis equipment for depositing TCO chemicals
Uniform thin film indium tin oxide (ITO), aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO), zinc oxide (ZnO) and fluorine doped oxide layers are typically produced using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis techniques. This unique process requires specialized coating equipment to create the necessary coating thickness and morphology to spray a caustic solution in a high temperature environment.
In the high temperature ultrasonic spray pyrolysis process, a precursor solution (e.g., aluminum-zinc oxide) is sprayed onto a substrate heated to approximately 300-500 degrees Celsius. The solvent evaporates during transport and a ZnO crystalline film is grown on the substrate surface, usually soda lime or other glass. The substrate temperature usually determines the morphological characteristics of the film.
Ultrasonic spray wet deposition offers manufacturers a cost effective alternative to vacuum deposition and sputtering with higher transfer efficiency. The highly uniform droplet size produced by the ultrasonic atomization nozzle allows for optimal sized droplets for pyrolysis reactions and all droplets will react simultaneously in the same manner during the deposition process. This results in an efficient TCO production process, whether for R&D or high volume production.
Overcome the process challenges of spraying highly corrosive acids with RysenTech ultrasonic nozzles, manufactured with corrosion-resistant construction materials for non-clogging, repeatable, long-life performance, even for highly corrosive hydrochloric or hydrofluoric acid solutions.
Advantages of RysenTech’s Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis System for TCO Coatings.
– Ultrasonic spray pyrolysis is simple, flexible and cost effective compared to CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) processes.
– Ultrasonic nozzles deposit more uniform layers than other coating methods
– Easily adjustable and repeatable coating parameters.
– Fully integrated patented ultrasonic nozzle technology and liquid delivery for a complete coating solution.
6、Sensors
Functional nanoparticle thin film coatings for sensor manufacturing
RysenTech ultrasonic coating systems are used to coat polymer films, conductive nanoparticles or other functional materials used in sensor manufacturing. These conductive nanocoatings are used in applications such as biometric security and medical device applications, as well as sensors designed for a variety of other applications, including: temperature sensing, gas sensing, blood analysis device sensing, chemical detection, impedance measurement and pressure or load sensing, etc.
Our coating equipment is typically used to coat thin film polymers and other conductive nano-coating chemicals used in the manufacture of fingerprint sensor assemblies for laptops, smartphones and other electronic devices, as well as medical testing and diagnostic sensor devices. Ultrasonic coating often offers significant cost savings and process improvements over other coating processes such as CVD and air atomizers.
Advantages and options for sensor manufacturing coating systems.
– Ultrasonic vibration can uniformly atomize solutions that would normally clog the spray technique.
– Easily adapts to batch substrate fixtures for high throughput and has easily programmable selective area coating capabilities.
– Ability to adjust coating patterns from dense glossy finishes to porous matte finishes.
– Ability to control droplet size in the 25kHz-180kHz range depending on nozzle frequency
– Control of coating thicknesses from thin nano-layers to tens of microns.
7、Spray drying
Ultrasonic nozzles for spray drying spherical particles
Ultrasonic spray drying solutions are suitable for a wide range of markets and applications due to their unique properties.
– Tight droplet/grain size distribution with high repeatability.
– Deep spherical shape.
– Ability to produce smaller particle sizes than typical air atomization nozzles.
