Reaction of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ͑EMICl͒ and anhydrous hydrogen fluoride gives a nonvolatile, room temperature molten salt, EMIF•2.3HF. The elemental analysis, vibrational, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy suggests the presence of oligomeric anions, (HF) n F Ϫ in the salt. The liquid is stable in air and able to be handled in a Pyrex glass vessel. The specific conductivity is 100 mS cm Ϫ1 at 298 K, which is extremely high compared with other salts of this kind. The high conductivity is realized by its low viscosity ͑4.85 cP at 298 K͒. The liquid temperature ranges from 180 to 350 K, and electrochemical window is about 3.2 V when a vitreous carbon is used for the electrode material.
We investigated inorganic-organic membranes consisting of sulfonated-poly(ether sulfone) (S-PES) and ZrO2·nH2O with the aim of improving proton conductivity and blocking methanol. We prepared excellent uniform membranes by the method using ZrOCl28H2O as a precursor. The proton conductivity of the ZrO2·nH2O/S-PES (EW=850) composite membrane with 50wt% ZrO2·nH2O content was about four times higher than that of S-PES (EW=850). On the other hand, the methanol permeability of the ZrO2·nH2O/S-PES (EW=850) composite membrane with 50wt% ZrO2·nH2O content was almost the same as that of S-PES (EW=850). These results mean in the composite membranes, the trade-off relationship between proton conductivity and methanol permeability found in S-PES was improved. The initial I-V performance of an MEA consisting of the ZrO2·nH2O/S-PES (EW=850) composite membrane with 50wt% ZrO2·nH2O content showed a maximum power density of 65 mW cm-2 at 260 mA cm-2.
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