NanoCapillary Network Proton Conducting Membranes for High Temperature Hydrogen/Air Fuel Cells

Pintauro, Peter¹ 

[1]Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)

关键词: nanofibers;    proton conducting membranes;    Nafion;    perfluorosulfonic acid;    electrospinning;   

DOI  :  10.2172/1233722
RP-ID  :  None
PID  :  OSTI ID: 1233722
Others  :  Other: 6157086407

美国|英语

来源: SciTech Connect

【 摘 要 】

The objective of this proposal is to fabricate and characterize a new class of NanoCapillary Network (NCN) proton conducting membranes for hydrogen/air fuel cells that operate under high temperature, low humidity conditions. The membranes will be intelligently designed, where a high density interconnecting 3-D network of nm-diameter electrospun proton conducting polymer fibers is embedded in an inert (uncharged) water/gas impermeable polymer matrix. The high density of fibers in the resulting mat and the high ion-exchange capacity of the fiber polymer will ensure high proton conductivity. To further enhance water retention, molecular silica will be added to the sulfonated polymer fibers. The uncharged matrix material will control water swelling of the high ion-exchange capacity proton conducting polymer fibers and will impart toughness to the final nanocapillary composite membrane. Thus, unlike other fuel cell membranes, the role of the polymer support matrix will be decoupled from that of the proton-conducting channels. The expected final outcome of this 5-year project is the fabrication of fuel cell membranes with properties that exceed the DOE???s technical targets, in particular a proton conductivity of 0.1 S/cm at a temperature less than or equal to120?��C and 25-50% relative humidity.