• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.53 no.3
• /
• pp.345-354
• /
• 2009

Sulfonated poly(ether sulfone)s (PESs) with a network structure were prepared by heat-induced crosslinking of the allyl-terminated telechelic sulfone polymers using a bisazide and their structure was analyzed by $^1H$ NMR. Having both uniform distribution of the hydrophilic conductive sites and controlled hydrophobic nature by minimized crosslinking, the crosslinked polymer (PES-60) membrane offered excellent proton conductivity at high temperature with a good thermal stability. In addition, selectivity of the crosslinked membrane (PES-60) was more than three times than that of Nafion$^{(R)}$.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.144-149
• /
• 2005

Sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) was blended with poly(ether sulfone) (PES) at various compositions. To investigate the possibility of using the blend membranes as polymer electrolyte membranes for direct methanol fuel cell, the blend membranes were characterized in terms of methanol permeability, proton conductivity, ion exchange capacity, and water content. Both proton conductivity and methanol permeability of SPEEK were relatively high. As the amount of PES increased, methanol permeability decreased more rapidly compared to proton conductivity. The experimental results indicated that the blend membrane with 40 wt% PES was the best choice in terms of the ratio of proton conductivity to methanol permeability.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.427-441
• /
• 2022

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) serving as a separator that can prevent the permeation of unreacted fuels as well as an electrolyte that selectively transports protons from the anode to the cathode has been considered a key component of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). The perfluorinated sulfonic acid-based PEMs, represented by Nafion®, have been commercialized in PEMFC systems due to their high proton conductivity and chemical stability. Nevertheless, these PEMs have several inherent drawbacks including high manufacturing costs by the complex synthetic processes and environmental problems caused by producing the toxic gases. Although numerous studies are underway to address these drawbacks including the development of sulfonated hydrocarbon polymer-based PEMs (SHP-PEMs), which can easily control the polymer structures, further improvement of PEM performances and durability is necessary for practical PEMFC applications. Therefore, this study focused on the various strategies for the development of SHP-PEMs with outstanding performance and durability by 1) introducing cross-linked structures, 2) incorporating organic/inorganic composites, and 3) fabricating reinforced-composite membranes using porous substrates.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.116-123
• /
• 2008

Proton conductive hybrid nanocomposite polymer electrolyte membranes comprising polystyrene-5-poly (hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PHEMA), sulfosuccinic acid (SA) and phosphotungstic acid (PWA) were prepared by varying PWA concentrations. The PHEMA block was thermally crosslinked by SA via the esterification reaction between -OH of PHEMA and -COOH of SA. Upon the incorporation of PWA into the diblock copolymer, the symmetric stretching bands of the $SO_3^-$ group at $1187cm^{-1}$ shifted to a lower wavenumber at $1158cm^{-1}$, demonstrating that the PWA particles strongly interact with the sulfonic acid groups of SA. When the concentration of PWA was increased to 30wt%, the proton conductivity of the composite membrane at room temperature increased from 0.045 to 0.062 S/cm, presumably due to the intrinsic conductivity of the PWA particles and the enhanced acidity of the sulfonic acid in the membranes. The membrane containing 30wt% of PWA exhibited a proton conductivity of 0.126 S/cm at $100^{\circ}C$. Thermal stability of the composite membranes was also enhanced by introducing PWA nanoparticles.

• 한국전기화학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2003.07a
• /
• pp.169-171
• /
• 2003

Organic/inorganic hybrid membranes have been prepared and evaluated as polymer electrolytes in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Previously, partially fluorinated poly (arylenether) was synthesized and the polymer was sulfonated by fuming sulfuric acid$(30\%\;SO_3)$. Modification of these polymers with coupling agent and inorganic materials was carried out to prepare membranes. Membranes cast from these materials were investigated in relation to the proton conductivity and weight loss at the room temperature. It was found that these membranes had a higher conductivity of $10^{-2}\;Scm^{-1}$ at the room temperature. But inorganic materials have leaked out from the hybrid membrane. If this problem is resolved, organic/inorganic hybrid membranes will become satisfactory Polymer electrolytes for the PEMFC.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society for Energy Engineering kosee Conference
• /
• 2004.11a
• /
• pp.133-138
• /
• 2004

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is considered as a clean and efficient energy conversion det ice for mobile and stationary applications. Anions all the components of the PEMFC, the interface between the electrolyte ,and electrode catalyst plays an important role in determining tile cell performance since the electrochemical reactions take place at the interface in contact with tile reactant gases. Therefore, to increase the interface area and obtain a high-performance PEMFC, surface of the electrolyte membrane was roughened by Ar$^{+}$ beam bombardment. The results imply that by modifying surface of the electrolyte membrane, platinum loading can be reduced significantly without performance loss. To optimize the surface treatment condition, effects of ion dose density on characteristics of the membrane/electrode interface were examined by measuring the cell performance, impedance spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammograms. Surface of the modified membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and FT-IR.R.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.569-578
• /
• 2011

The $SiO_2$ membranes for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) are preapared by electrospinning method. It leads to high porosity and surface area of membrane to accommodate the proton conducting materials. The composite membrane was prepared by impregnating of Nafion ionomer into the pores of electrospun $SiO_2$ membranes. The $SiO_2$:heteropolyacid (HPA) nano-particles as a inorganic proton conductor were prepared by microemulsion process and the particles are added to the Nafion ionomer. The characterization of the membranes was confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), and single cell performance test for PEMFC. The Nafion impregnated electrospun $SiO_2$ membrane showed good thermal stability, satisfactory mechanical properties and high proton conductivity. The addition of the $SiO_2$:HPA nano-particle improved proton conductivity of the composite membrane, which allow further extension for operation temperature in low humidity environments. The composite membrane exhibited a promising properties for the application in high temperature PEMFC.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.265-273
• /
• 2017

Solid-state alkaline water electrolysis is a promising method for producing hydrogen using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. Despite active investigations of component development for anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE), understanding of the device performance remains insufficient for the commercialization of AEMWE. The study of assembled AEMWE devices is essential to validate the activity and stability of developed catalysts and electrolyte membranes, as well as the dependence of the performance on the device operating conditions. Herein, we review the development of catalysts and membranes reported by different AEMWE companies such as ACTA S.p.A. and Proton OnSite and device operating conditions that significantly affect the AEMWE performance. For example, $CuCoO_x$ and $LiCoO_2$ have been studied as oxygen evolution catalysts by Acta S.p.A and Proton OnSite, respectively. Anion exchange membranes based on polyethylene and polysulfone are also investigated for use as electrolyte membranes in AEMWE devices. In addition, operation factors, including temperature, electrolyte concentration and acidity, and solution feed methods, are reviewed in terms of their influence on the AEMWE performance. The reaction rate of water splitting generally increases with increase in operating temperature because of the facilitated kinetics and higher ion conductivity. The effect of solution feeding configuration on the AEMWE performance is explained, with a brief discussion on current AEMWE performance and device durability.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.57-65
• /
• 2020

The purpose of this study was to compare the water channel morphology and the proton conductivity by changing the number of repeating units of the polymer backbone of PEMs, and to present a criterion for selecting an appropriate polymer model for MD simulation. In the model with the shortest polymer main chain, the movement of the main chain and the sulfonic acid group was observed to be large, but no change in the water channel morphology was found. In addition, due to the nature of the proton transport ability that is most affected by the water channel morphology, the proton conductivity did not show a significant correlation with the length of the polymer backbone. These results provide important information, particularly for the preparation of ionomers for binders. In general, a low molecular weight polymer electrolyte material is used for a binder ionomer. Since the movement of the main chain/sulfonic acid group is improved, it can play a role of enclosing the catalyst layer well. However, there is no change in its proton conducting performance. In conclusion, the preparation of ionomers for binders will require molecular weight and structure design with a focus on physical properties rather than proton transfer performance.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.42 no.2 s.273
• /
• pp.77-80
• /
• 2005

A series of proton conductive composite membranes based on poly(vinyl alcohol) and phosphosilicate gels powders were successfully prepared. The proton conductivity of these composite was attributed to the phosphosilicate gel, which derived from tetraethoxysilane and phosphoric acid by sol-gel process at a molar ratio of P/Si = 1.5. The proton conductivity increased with increasing both the content of phosphosilicate gel and relative humidity. Temperature dependence of conductivity showed a Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher type behavior, indicating that proton was transferred through a liquidlike phase formed in micropores of phosphosilicate gel. The high conductivity of 0.065 S/cm with a membrane containing 60 wt$\%$ of the gel was obtained at $60^{\circ}C$ at $90\%$ relative humidity.