Electrochemical study of a hydrogen diffusion anode-membrane assembly for membrane electrolysis

Faverjon, Frédéric; Rakib, Mohammed; Durand, Gérard

doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2005.04.046

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The resulting black mixtures were first ultrasonicated for 1 h. The black ink was then coated onto the carbon cloth, dried in a vacuum oven at 100°C for 2 h, and kept in muffle furnace at 350°C for 6 h [14].…”

Section: Diffusion Layer Preparationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of proton exchange membranes based on SPSEBS/SPSU blends

Bhavani

Dharmalingam

2012

J Polym Res

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Proton-conducting polymer membranes are used as an electrolytes in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The most widely used commercially available membrane electrolytes are perfluorosulfonic acid polymers, an expensive class of ionomers. In this study, the potential of polymer blends derived from sulfonated polystyrene ethylene butylene polystyrene (SPSEBS) and sulfonated polysulfone (SPSU) for use in electrolyte applications was examined. Although SPSEBS by itself exhibits good conductivity, flexibility, and chemical stability, it has poor mechanical stability. So, in an effort to improve the mechanical properties of SPSEBS while maintaining its good conductivity, it was blended with SPSU. SPSEBS/SPSU blends were therefore prepared by a solvent evaporation method, and the resulting blend membranes were characterized in terms of conductivity, ionic exchange capacity, and water uptake. Sulfonation was confirmed and the crystallinity of the blend membranes was studied by FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The morphologies of the membranes were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM), and their thermal stabilities by TGA and DSC. Finally, the mechanical strength of SPSEBS was studied using a UTM (universal testing machine). This paper presents the results of recent investigations aimed at developing an optimized inhouse membrane electrode assembly (MEA) preparation technique combining catalyst ink spraying and assembly hot pressing. Easy steps were chosen for this preparation technique in order to simplify the method, thus minimizing costs. The influence of MEA fabrication parameters like electrode pressing or annealing on the performance of the hydrogen fuel cell was studied by performing single cell measurements during H 2 /O 2 operation. Carbon cloth was used as a gas diffusion layer (GDL), and the composition of the electrode ink was optimized to maximize fuel cell performance. A commercial E-TEK catalyst was used for the anode and cathode, with Pt loadings of 0.125 and 0.37 mg/cm 2 , respectively. The MEA with the best performance delivered approximately 0.50 W/ cm 2 at room temperature. The methanol permeability and the selectivity ratio strongly influenced DMFC performance. Both direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) and PEMFCs are discussed in this paper.

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Section: Diffusion Layer Preparationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of proton exchange membranes based on SPSEBS/SPSU blends

Bhavani

Dharmalingam

2012

J Polym Res

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“…The resulting black mixture was then ultrasonicated for 15 min. The resultant slurry made of carbon was then coated onto the carbon cloth, and it was sintered in the muffle furnace for 3 h at 350°C [10] .…”

Section: Diffusion Layer Preparationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blend membranes for direct methanol and proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Bhavani

Dharmalingam

2012

Chin J Polym Sci

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Sulphonated polystyrene ethylene butylene polystyrene (SPSEBS) prepared with 35% sulphonation was found to be highly elastic and enlarged up to 300%−400% of its initial length. It absorbed over 110% of water by weight. A major drawback of this membrane is its poor mechanical properties which are not adequate for use as polymer electrolytes in fuel cells. To overcome this, SPSEBS was blended with poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF), a hydrophobic polymer. The blend membranes showed better mechanical properties than the base polymer. The effect of PVDF content on water uptake, ion exchange capacity and proton conductivity of the blend membranes was investigated. This paper presents the results of recent studies applied to develop an optimized in-house membrane electrode assembly (MEA) preparation technique combining catalyst ink spraying and assembly hot pressing. Easy steps were chosen in this preparation technique in order to simplify the method, aiming at cost reduction. The open circuit voltage for the cell with SPSEBS is 0.980 V which is higher compared to that of the cell with Nafion 117 (0.790 V). From this study, it is concluded that a polymer electrolyte membrane suitable for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) application can be obtained by blending SPSEBS and PVDF in appropriate proportions. The methanol permeability and selectivity showed a strong influence on DMFC performance.

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“…At the same time, saleable Al(OH) 3 was intended to be produced in this process, hence, an anion-exchange membrane can be used to separate the cathode and anode in order to collect the anodic reaction products and to avoid their effects on the cathode reaction. The ion-exchange membrane has been widely used to selectively transport counter ions through them based on unique property [14,15], it will be much suitable to separate anolyte and catholyte in this experiment. The flow chart of our novel approach to recovery zinc from the slag in an anion-exchange membrane electrolysis reactor is shown in Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%