Abstract
Polymer electrolyte membranes with acidic functions are useful for a wide variety of applications. In particular, fuel cells have attracted considerable attention due to their high energy conversion efficiency and low pollution level. In this chapter, design strategies for proton conductive polymer electrolyte membranes aiming at next-generation fuel cells are described. In the first session, effect of sulfonic acid containing aromatic groups onto the membranes is discussed. A simplest possible structure, the sulfo-1,4-phenylene unit, as the hydrophilic component contributes to high proton conductivity as well as mechanical stability. The membrane exhibits excellent fuel cell performance comparable to that with state-of-the-art Nafion membranes. In the second session, a new copolymer composed of perfluoroalkyl and sulfophenylene groups is discussed for improving the interfacial mass transport (water and protons) with the catalyst layers. The partially fluorinated membrane with well-controlled, small-scale, phase-separated morphology derives high cathode (oxygen reduction reaction) performance.
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Miyatake, K. (2019). Polymer Electrolyte Membranes: Design for Fuel Cells in Acidic Media. In: Nakashima, N. (eds) Nanocarbons for Energy Conversion: Supramolecular Approaches. Nanostructure Science and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92917-0_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92917-0_13
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