Proton conducting fluorinated polymer nanomembrane for fuel cell applications

Abstract

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC) gained a lot of interest in recent years as a potential solution for an eco-friendly energy. Proton exchage membranes (PEM) are one of the main components of PEFC and require mechanical and chemical stability to ensure high proton conductivity and effective separation of anode and cathode under challenging conditions. Best commercial membranes made from sulfonated fluoropolymers, such as Nafion, are rather expensive. To improve fuel cell performance at a lower cost, 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS) was investigated recently. We investigated crosslinkable polymers consisting of AMPS for proton conductivity, a perfluorinated acrylate to mimic Nafion and glycidyl methacrylate for crosslinking. Since we combine very polar and very apolar monomers in the polymer chain we investigated phase separation and orientation of proton conducting channels in the electric field. First results of conductivity measurements and orientation will be presented.