New polymer electrolyte membranes for fuel cells
Författare
Summary, in English
Durable polymers functionalized with acidic or basic groups are currently developed for proton- or anion-exchange membrane (PEM or AEM) fuel cells, respectively. The properties of perfluorosulfinic acid PEMs restrict the conditions under which these fuel cells can be operated because of limitations conductivity and stability. We are presently pursuing different approaches to alternative membranes where sulfonic acid groups are concentrated to selected aromatic segments in the polymeric structure to induce a higher level of organization of the conducting phase domains in the PEM. This includes for example the preparation of various highly stable hydrophilic-hydrophobic multiblock copolymers with blocks having very high acid contents. This leads to excellent performance and high proton conductivity at low relative humidity. AEM fuel cells hold the promise of platinum free catalysis, but present critical challenges in terms of membrane conductivity and stability. Here, we are preparing and studying various aromatic AEMs which contain very high local concentrations of ammonium moieties for high anionic conductivity and enhanced durability. Macromolecular design principles, synthetic procedures and important structure-property relationships of these new materials will be discussed.
Avdelning/ar
Publiceringsår
2014
Språk
Engelska
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Proceedings of CIMTEC 2014
Dokumenttyp
Konferensbidrag
Förlag
Trans Tech Publications
Ämne
- Chemical Sciences
Conference name
6th Forum on New Materials
Conference date
2014-06-15 - 2014-06-19
Conference place
Montecatini Terme, Tuscany, Italy
Status
Published