Hybrid Membranes for Proton Exchange Fuel Cell

2010 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 265-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine Valle ◽  
Franck Pereira ◽  
Frederic Rambaud ◽  
Philippe Belleville ◽  
Christel Laberty ◽  
...  

Fuel cell technology has merged in recent years as a keystone for future energy supply. The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is one of the most promising projects of this energy technology program; the PEMFC is made of a conducting polymer that usually operates at temperatures in the range 20-80°C. In order to reach high energy consumption application like transportation, the using temperatures need to be increased above 100°C. Sol-gel organic/inorganic hybrids have been evaluated as materials for membranes to full file the high temperature using requirement. These new materials for membrane need to retain water content and therefore proton conductivity property with using temperature and time. The membranes also need to be chemical-resistant to strong acidic conditions and to keep their mechanical properties regarding stacking requirements. In order to! answer all these specifications, the proposed hybrid membranes are based on nanoporous inorganic phase embedded in an organic polymer in which chemical grafting and conductivity network microstructure are optimized to preserve both water-uptake and proton conductivity at higher temperatures. Such very promising results on these new hybrids are presented and discussed regarding electrochemical properties/microstructure

2004 ◽  
Vol 822 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuke Daiko ◽  
Lisa C. Klein ◽  
Masayuki Nogami

AbstractNafion, a perfluorosulfonate ionomer, was modified to increase its thermal stability and reduce its methanol permeability. Hybrid membranes of TiO2·SiO2/Nafion and TiO2·SiO2·P2O5/Nafion™ were prepared using an infiltration sol-gel method. Si(OC2H5)4 and Ti(OC4H9)4 were infiltrated into dry NafionTM membranes, followed by hydrolysis and condensation reactions in first HCl and then NH4OH solutions. The level of inorganic content was controlled by the infiltration time, incorporating up to 50 wt%. Solvent uptake, swelling, water content and proton conductivity were measured at room temperature. Hybrid membranes of TiO2·SiO2/Nafion with ∼30 wt% of infiltrated oxides showed a significantly lower methanol uptake of ∼20wt% and a swelling ratio of 1.15, as compared to those of unmodified NafionTM membrane, ∼60wt% for methanol uptake and 1.8 for swelling ratio. Proton conductivities for TiO2·SiO2/Nafion hybrid membranes decreased with increasing infiltrated oxides. However, infiltrated membranes treated in phosphoric acid solutions to increase the number of P-OH groups showed a six-fold increase in proton conductivity.


Author(s):  
Shuiyun Shen ◽  
Ziwen Ren ◽  
Silei Xiang ◽  
Shiqu Chen ◽  
Zehao Tan ◽  
...  

Abstract Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is a crucial route for energy saving, emission reduction and the development of new energy vehicles because of its high power density, high energy density as well as the low operating temperature which corresponds to fast starting and power matching. However, the rare and expensive Pt resource greatly hinders the mass production of fuel cell, and the development of highly active and durable non-precious metal catalysts toward the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in the cathode is considered to be the ultimate solution. In this article, a highly active and durable Fe-N-C catalyst was facilely derived from metal organic framework materials (MOFs), and a favorable structure of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were formed, which accounts for a desired good durability. The as-optimized catalyst has a half-wave potential of 0.84V for the ORR, which is comparable to that of commercial Pt/C. More attractively, it has good stabilities both in rotating disk electrode and single cell tests, which provides a large practical application potential in the replacement of Pt catalyst as the ORR electrocatalyst in fuel cells.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Siti Wafiroh ◽  
Suyanto Suyanto ◽  
Yuliana Yuliana

AbstrakDi era globalisasi ini, kebutuhan bahan bakar fosil semakin meningkat dan ketersediannya semakin menipis. Oleh karena itu, dibutuhkan bahan bakar alternatif seperti Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah membuat dan mengkarakterisasi membran komposit kitosan-sodium alginat dari rumput laut coklat (Sargassum sp.) terfosforilasi sebagai Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). PEM dibuat dengan 4 variasi perbandingan konsentrasi antara kitosan dengan sodium alginat 8:0, 8:1, 8:2, dan 8:4 (b/b). Membran komposit kitosan-sodium alginat difosforilasi dengan STPP 2N. Karakterisasi PEM meliputi: uji tarik, swelling air, kapasitas penukar ion, FTIR, SEM, permeabilitas metanol, dan konduktivitas proton. Berdasarkan hasil analisis tersebut, membran yang optimal adalah perbandingan 8:1 (b/b) dengan nilai modulus young sebesar 0,0901 kN/cm2, swelling air sebesar 19,14 %, permeabilitas metanol sebesar 72,7 x 10-7, dan konduktivitas proton sebesar 4,7 x 10-5 S/cm. Membran komposit kitosan-sodium alginat terfosforilasi memiliki kemampuan yang cukup baik untuk bisa diaplikasikan sebagai membran polimer elektrolit dalam PEMFC. Kata kunci: kitosan, sodium alginat, terfosforilasi, PEMFC  AbstractIn this globalization era, the needs of fossil fuel certainly increases, but its providence decreases. Therefore, we need alternative fuels such as Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). The purpose of this study is preparationand characterization of phosphorylated chitosan-sodium alginate composite membrane from brown seaweed (Sargassum sp.) as Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). PEM is produced with 4 variations of concentration ratio between chitosan and sodium alginate 8:0, 8:1, 8:2, and 8:4 (w/w). Chitosan-sodium alginate composite membrane phosphorylated with 2 N STPP. The characterization of PEM include: tensile test, water swelling, ion exchange capacity, FTIR, SEM, methanol permeability, and proton conductivity. Based on the analysis result, the optimal membrane is ratio of 8:1 (w/w) with the value of Young’s modulus about 0.0901 kN/cm2, water swelling at 19.14%, methanol permeability about 72.7 x 10-7, and proton conductivity about 4.7 x 10-5 S/cm. The phosphorylated chitosan-sodium alginate composite membrane has good potentials for the application of the polymer electrolyte membrane in PEMFC. Keywords: chitosan, sodium alginate, phosphorylated, PEMFC


2007 ◽  
Vol 539-543 ◽  
pp. 1327-1331
Author(s):  
Philippe Bébin ◽  
Hervé Galiano

The development of new proton exchange membranes for PEMFC has to be related to the membrane processing as it can change drastically the final properties of the material. Indeed, for the same material, a membrane prepared by a solvent-casting process has a lower lifetime than an extruded one. The proton conduction of the membrane can also be dependent on the membrane processing, especially when some removable plasticizers are used to perform the membrane extrusion. Some residual porosity, left in the material after removing the plasticizer, is suspected to enhance the proton conduction of the film. Fuel cell experiments have shown that extruded sulfonated polysulfone membrane can give the same performance as a Nafion® reference membrane whereas the proton conductivity of PSUs is twenty times lower than the Nafion® one. Additional improvements of the membrane properties can also be expected by adding some proton conductive fillers to the organic polymer. This approach enhances the proton conductivity of sulfonated polysulfone to values similar to Nafion®. On the other hand, when Nafion® is used as a matrix for the proton conductive fillers, a very significant improvement of fuel cell performance is obtained.


Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucia Mazzapioda ◽  
Stefania Panero ◽  
Maria Assunta Navarra

Nafion composite membranes, containing different amounts of mesoporous sulfated titanium oxide (TiO2-SO4) were prepared by solvent-casting and tested in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), operating at very low humidification levels. The TiO2-SO4 additive was originally synthesized by a sol-gel method and characterized through x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and ion exchange capacity (IEC). Peculiar properties of the composite membranes, such as the thermal transitions and ion exchange capacity, were investigated and here discussed. When used as an electrolyte in the fuel cell, the composite membrane guaranteed an improvement with respect to bare Nafion systems at 30% relative humidity and 110 °C, exhibiting higher power and current densities.


2012 ◽  
Vol 155-156 ◽  
pp. 856-860
Author(s):  
Young Guan Jung ◽  
Ho Sang Choi ◽  
Du Hee Kim ◽  
Dae Heum Park

The performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) is known to be influenced by different operating conditions such as temperature, pressure, and humidification of the reactant gases. Especially, the humidification is essential for the electrolysis and performance enhancement of PEMFC, because the proton conductivity depends on the hydration of proton exchange membrane. In this study, the humidification experiment has been done concerning ON/OFF control of the humidification for PEMFC, by using of the bubble humidifiers which are usually difficult to approximation control the humidity. Also, in order to verify the dew condensation, the visualization experiment has been done at a flow channel of PEMFC stack. As the results, it is possible to approximation control the humidity by using of the solenoid on/off valve in the bubble humidifier. The dew condensation is also verified through such experiment. The problems, such as the approximation control of humidity and dew condensation, were then resolved in such a useful manner.


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