Innovative Perfluoropolyether‐Functionalized Gas Diffusion Layers with Enhanced Performance in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Latorrata, Saverio; Sansotera, Maurizio; Gola, Massimo; Stampino, Paola Gallo; Navarrini, W.; Dotelli, Giovanni

doi:10.1002/fuce.201900169

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 42 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…To address the above-mentioned issues, chemical modification of carbon materials with hydrophobic agent is a promising approach. Latorrata et al 16 decorated gas diffusion layers with linear perfluoropolyether (PFPE) peroxide, the thermal decomposition of which produced radicals covalently linking to the carbon. The PFPE-modified GDL with high hydrophobicity showed a better water removal and gas diffusion capability and thus improved cell performance over conventional PTFE-treated GDL.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Superhydrophobic Carbon Functionalized by Chemical Grafting of Fluoroalkylsilane Enables an Efficient Microporous Layer for Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Zhang

Shi

et al. 2022

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Microporous layer (MPL) is a vital component for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) to improve the cell performance. However, the conventional preparation of MPL, involving the mixing of carbon black with hydrophobic agent polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), followed by high-temperature annealing, is often complicated and costly. Herein, we present a facile and low-cost method to fabricate the MPL by functionalization of carbon black via covalent bonding with hydrophobic agent. Upon chemical grafting with fluoroalkylsilane (FAS-17), the water contact angle of carbon black is increased from 66.4 to 150.4°, resulting in superhydrophobicity. The MPL prepared with the resultant superhydrophobic carbon endows the PEMFC with enhanced gas and water permeability and hereby improved electrochemical performance over traditional MPL, and a maximum power density of 1211 mW cm −2 for the PEMFC can be obtained. This work offers a feasible strategy to construct an efficient MPL for the PEMFC via a chemical grafting approach.

show abstract

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Superhydrophobic Carbon Functionalized by Chemical Grafting of Fluoroalkylsilane Enables an Efficient Microporous Layer for Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Zhang

Shi

et al. 2022

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Finally, carbon nanotubes were functionalized with PFPAEs via a radical mechanism. 240 The thermal decomposition of peroxy PFPAEs with the unsaturated bonds of CNTs allowed to covalently bond PFPAEs to CNTs. 54 A mechanism of linkage on carbon black was also proposed.…”

Section: Radical Reactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity of Synthetic Approaches to Functionalized Perfluoropolyalkylether Polymers

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Perfluoropolyalkylethers (PFPAEs) are a class of fluorinated polymers having −OCF2–, −OCF2CF2–, and −OCF2CF(CF3)– as common chain units. The ether linkages distinguish them from other famous fluorinated polymers such as poly(tetrafluoroethylene). Their higher mobility highlighted by below zero glass transition temperatures permit them to be noncrystalline, which makes them easy to use for many applications. They possess interesting tribological properties, combined with an excellent thermal and chemical stability, make them very useful as lubricants. However, after chemical modifications, they also demonstrated to be very useful in numerous applications as surfactants, electrolytes, high performance coatings, vitrimers, or microfluidic devices, to give a few examples. This Perspective aims to summarize all the chemical modifications reported on these PFPAEs to provide a new insight into their potential utility in emerging fields. Indeed, the end group can modulate the properties of PFPAE-based materials such as lubricity, superhydrophobicity, biofouling, antibacterial activity, amphiphilicity, and the ability to react further with comonomers under photochemical and thermal processes. It can also modulate their intrinsic properties such as viscosity and solubility in common organic solvents. The chemical modifications are sorted in five main parts: the condensation reactions, the nucleophilic reactions, the click chemistry reactions, the radical reactions, and finally reactions going through other mechanisms or requiring a multistep process. They can be employed as such or for further polymerization processes depending on the targeted application. Examples of applications are thoroughly described to demonstrate their current usefulness and to help provide direction for their future use.

show abstract

“…Finally, a few other materials have been tested, specifically perfluoroalcoxy (PFA) and perfluoropolyether (PFPE). Latorrata et al [42,112,113] have employed both of these polymers in GDLs and MPLs and compared their behaviors to PTFE and FEP, which are more consolidated alternatives. PFA, like FEP, seems to induce a higher hydrophobic character, while PFPE is correlated to a larger cumulative pore volume of the obtained GDM [41,[114][115][116].…”

Section: Fepmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Fluorinated Polymers in the Water Management of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: A Review

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As the hydrogen market is projected to grow in the next decades, the development of more efficient and better-performing polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is certainly needed. Water management is one of the main issues faced by these devices and is strictly related to the employment of fluorinated materials in the gas diffusion medium (GDM). Fluorine-based polymers are added as hydrophobic agents for gas diffusion layers (GDL) or in the ink composition of microporous layers (MPL), with the goal of reducing the risk of membrane dehydration and cell flooding. In this review, the state of the art of fluorinated polymers for fuel cells is presented. The most common ones are polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP), however, other compounds such as PFA, PVDF, PFPE, and CF4 have been studied and reported. The effects of these materials on device performances are analyzed and described. Particular attention is dedicated to the influence of polymer content on the variation of the fuel cell component properties, namely conductivity, durability, hydrophobicity, and porosity, and on the PEMFC behavior at different current densities and under multiple operating conditions.

show abstract

Innovative Perfluoropolyether‐Functionalized Gas Diffusion Layers with Enhanced Performance in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Cited by 19 publications

References 42 publications

Superhydrophobic Carbon Functionalized by Chemical Grafting of Fluoroalkylsilane Enables an Efficient Microporous Layer for Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Superhydrophobic Carbon Functionalized by Chemical Grafting of Fluoroalkylsilane Enables an Efficient Microporous Layer for Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Diversity of Synthetic Approaches to Functionalized Perfluoropolyalkylether Polymers

The Role of Fluorinated Polymers in the Water Management of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: A Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About