Novel membranes for proton exchange membrane fuel cell operation above 120°C. Final report for period October 1, 1998 to December 31, 1999

Technical Report · Mon May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2000

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1172224· OSTI ID:1172224

Srinivasan, Supramaniam ^[1]; Lee, Seung-Jae ^[1]; Costamagna, Paola ^[1]; Yang, Christopher ^[1]; Adjemian, Kevork ^[1]; Bocarsly, Andrew ^[1]; Ogden, Joan M. ^[1]; Benziger, Jay ^[1]

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1. Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)

In this project we investigated the experimental performance of three new classes of membranes, composites of perfluorosulfonic acid polymers with heteropolyacides, hydrated oxides and fast proton conducting glasses, which are promising candidates as electrolytes for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), capable of operation at temperatures above 120°C. The motivations for PEMFC's operation at this temperature are to: 1) minimize the CO poisoning problem (adsorption of CO onto the platinum catalyst is greatly reduced at these temperatures), 2) find better solutions for the water and thermal management problems in proton exchange membrane fuel cells, 3) find potentially lower cost materials for proton exchange membranes. We prepared and characterized a variety of novel membrane materials. The most promising of these have been evaluated for performance in a single, small area (5cm²) fuel cell run on hydrogen and oxygen. Our results establish the technical feasibility of PEMFC operation above 120°C.

• Research Organization: Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: FC02-98EE50535
• OSTI ID: 1172224
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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