Formation and characterization of crosslinked membranes for alkaline fuel cells

Sollogoub, Cyrille; Guinault, Alain; Bonnebat, C.; Bennjima, M.; Akrour, Laurent; Fauvarque, Jean‐François; Ogier, Lionel

doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2009.02.027

Cited by 58 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Table II summarizes the properties of all photo-crosslinked HEMs for fuel cell applications presently found in the literature. The only other photo-crosslinked HEMs synthesized via thiol-ene chemistry have been reported by Stoica et al, 12 Sollogoub et al, 13 and Vandiver et al 14 The others were polymerized and crosslinked using traditional free-radical, chain-growth mechanisms. Thiol-ene photopolymerization reactions proceed through a rapid radical mechanism, but the molecular weight builds through a step-growth mechanism, which typically produces a homogeneous polymer network.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…10,11 A single-step polymerization and crosslinking reaction enables precise control over the degrees of functionalization (and thus IEC) and crosslinking imparted by the use of small molecules rather than large polymer precursors. Moreover, photo-crosslinking, which allows for rapid initiation and propagation, has been demonstrated by numerous groups in the formation of solvent-resistant networks [4][5][6][7][8][12][13][14] and is a particularly attractive means to fabricate membranes because of the low cost, safety, and spatial-temporal control afforded by the use of light initiation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…15,16 These organic reactions have been shown to be rapid, high yielding (quantitative conversions), selective, and able to proceed under ambient conditions in the fabrication of polymer networks. [15][16][17] While thiol-ene chemistry has been used to fabricate HEMs via crosslinking of polymer chains, [12][13][14] it has not been employed for the preparation of HEMs via the single-step photo-polymerization and crosslinking of monomers. Here, we report for the first time a single-step photo-initiated polymerization and crosslinking of thiol-ene-based charged monomers to rapidly design and fabricate HEMs for fuel cell applications.…”

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confidence: 99%

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A Single-Step Monomeric Photo-Polymerization and Crosslinking via Thiol-Ene Reaction for Hydroxide Exchange Membrane Fabrication

Tibbits

Mumper

Kloxin

et al. 2015

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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A single step monomeric photo-polymerization and crosslinking via thiol-ene reaction is developed for the preparation of hydroxide exchange membranes (HEMs) in a ternary system with a triallyl triazine, a quaternary ammonium diallyl, and a dithiol. This facile method enables reproducible tuning of the ion exchange capacity and crosslink density. These HEMs demonstrate reasonable hydroxide conductivity, limited alkaline stability, and good thermal stability and have lower water uptakes than other photocrosslinked HEMs produced with much longer reaction times. Furthermore, this new fabrication method allows the incorporation of catalyst nanoparticles in the hydroxide exchange materials to form thin catalyst layers that are resistant to dissolution in methanol which suggests these polymers can be used in direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs). Hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells (HEMFCs) have the potential to decrease the overall fuel cell system cost through the utilization of non-precious metal catalysts (e.g., nickel) and inexpensive bipolar plates (e.g., aluminum).1 As one of the key components for a HEMFC, the hydroxide exchange membrane (HEM) has to be both reasonably ion conductive and have low water uptake (WU). Attempts to increase ion conductivity in HEMs typically lead to increased water uptake and excessive swelling that, in the extreme cases, results in the dissolution of the membrane. Covalent crosslinking of the polymeric HEM is an approach that effectively combats excessive swelling and dissolution that would otherwise occur during fuel cell operation. 2,3Typically, polymer crosslinking methods for HEM fabrication require separate polymerization and crosslinking steps necessitating careful manipulation of reaction conditions including the reaction time, reactant concentrations, and temperature. As a result of this complexity, the reproducible fabrication of cross-linked HEMs is still an ongoing challenge in the development of fuel cell membranes to achieve consistent ion exchange capacities (IECs) and degrees of crosslinking (DC).Several groups have already demonstrated that a single-step polymerization and crosslinking fabrication of HEMs is possible using photo-polymerization, 4-8 thermal polymerization, 9 and ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP).10,11 A single-step polymerization and crosslinking reaction enables precise control over the degrees of functionalization (and thus IEC) and crosslinking imparted by the use of small molecules rather than large polymer precursors. Moreover, photo-crosslinking, which allows for rapid initiation and propagation, has been demonstrated by numerous groups in the formation of solvent-resistant networks [4][5][6][7][8][12][13][14] and is a particularly attractive means to fabricate membranes because of the low cost, safety, and spatial-temporal control afforded by the use of light initiation.Thus far, all of the studies involving the photo-copolymerization and crosslinking reaction between vinyl-functionalized comonomers have proceeded under traditional ...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A Single-Step Monomeric Photo-Polymerization and Crosslinking via Thiol-Ene Reaction for Hydroxide Exchange Membrane Fabrication

Tibbits

Mumper

Kloxin

et al. 2015

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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“…DABCO (pKa(H 2 O) = 8.8) and quinuclidine have been researched as the use of these quaternization agents have been suggested to minimize the quaternary ammonium degradation reactions mentioned above [89] despite them containing -hydrogen atoms;…”

Section: Preparation Of Alkaline Anion-exchange Membranes (Aaem)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Alkaline Anion Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cells- A Patent Review

Zeng¹,

Varcoe²

2011

CHENG

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Abstract:Recently, Alkaline Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (APEMFCs) have been attracting worldwide attention mainly due to the prospect of using non-platinum-group metal catalysts.In addition, there is growing evidence that these fuel cells can operate with the presence of carbonate.This mini review will introduce the state-of-the-art in understanding of alkaline anion-exchange membranes (AAEMs) in solid alkaline fuel cells. Ionomers for membrane electrode assembly (MEA) fabrication and the chemistry of the carbonate and bicarbonate forms of the AAEMs are also discussed.Key references to the latest scientific literature and reviews are included, along with a brief overview of directly relevant patents.Keywords: Alkaline polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, alkaline anion exchange membrane, alkaline ionomer, hybrid membrane fuel cell, carbonate and bicarbonate.

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“…Scientists around the world have spent resources on investigating a new material for the electrode and membrane aimed at less transport losses [3,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Resources have also been spent on modeling, simulation, and optimization of alkaline fuel cells under specific constraints [19][20][21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parametric Analysis of a Single Alkaline Membrane Fuel Cell

Martins

Sommer

Vargas

et al. 2015

Heat Transfer Engineering

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When geometric parameters, such as volume and thickness, are constraints to be considered in real applications and an increase of performance is required, other parameters must be taken into account for the optimization of fuel cells. The physical properties of bipolar plates, electrodes, and membranes are some of the parameters that can still be studied when maximum power output is sought under geometric constraint. This paper investigated the influence of porosity of the diffusive and reaction layers on the power output of an alkaline membrane fuel cell (AMFC). An experimentally validated mathematical model was used to simulate the fuel cell performance as a function of different porosities of the electrode. It was found that the change of porosity of the diffusive layer has a minimum influence in the poweroutput of the fuel cell when the porosity of the reaction layer is kept constant. The cathode was shown to limit the performance of the fuel cell due to losses that make the polarization curve to drop to zero at the cathode faster than at the anode. The increase of the porosity of the reaction layer is verified to be an alternative to enhance the power output of the fuel cell.

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Formation and characterization of crosslinked membranes for alkaline fuel cells

Cited by 58 publications

References 21 publications

A Single-Step Monomeric Photo-Polymerization and Crosslinking via Thiol-Ene Reaction for Hydroxide Exchange Membrane Fabrication

A Single-Step Monomeric Photo-Polymerization and Crosslinking via Thiol-Ene Reaction for Hydroxide Exchange Membrane Fabrication

Alkaline Anion Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cells- A Patent Review

Parametric Analysis of a Single Alkaline Membrane Fuel Cell

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