U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
High temperature proton exchange membranes with enhanced proton conductivities at low humidity and high temperature based on polymer blends and block copolymers of poly(1,3-cyclohexadiene) and poly(ethylene glycol)
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
Univ. of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS (United States). School of Polymers and High Performance Materials
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Materials Science and Technology Division
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Chemistry;
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Chemical Sciences Division
Hot (at 120 °C) and dry (20% relative humidity) operating conditions benefit fuel cell designs based on proton exchange membranes (PEMs) and hydrogen due to simplified system design and increasing tolerance to fuel impurities. In this paper, presented are preparation, partial characterization, and multi-scale modeling of such PEMs based on cross-linked, sulfonated poly(1,3-cyclohexadiene) (xsPCHD) blends and block copolymers with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). These low cost materials have proton conductivities 18 times that of current industry standard Nafion at hot, dry operating conditions. Among the membranes studied, the blend xsPCHD-PEG PEM displayed the highest proton conductivity, which exhibits a morphology with higher connectivity of the hydrophilic domain throughout the membrane. Simulation and modeling provide a molecular level understanding of distribution of PEG within this hydrophilic domain and its relation to proton conductivities. Finally, this study demonstrates enhancement of proton conductivity at high temperature and low relative humidity by incorporation of PEG and optimized sulfonation conditions.
Deng, Shawn, et al. "High temperature proton exchange membranes with enhanced proton conductivities at low humidity and high temperature based on polymer blends and block copolymers of poly(1,3-cyclohexadiene) and poly(ethylene glycol)." Polymer, vol. 77, Sep. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2015.09.033
Deng, Shawn, Hassan, Mohammad K., Nalawade, Amol, Perry, Kelly A., More, Karren L., Mauritz, Kenneth A., McDonnell, Marshall T., Keffer, David J., & Mays, Jimmy W. (2015). High temperature proton exchange membranes with enhanced proton conductivities at low humidity and high temperature based on polymer blends and block copolymers of poly(1,3-cyclohexadiene) and poly(ethylene glycol). Polymer, 77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2015.09.033
Deng, Shawn, Hassan, Mohammad K., Nalawade, Amol, et al., "High temperature proton exchange membranes with enhanced proton conductivities at low humidity and high temperature based on polymer blends and block copolymers of poly(1,3-cyclohexadiene) and poly(ethylene glycol)," Polymer 77 (2015), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2015.09.033
@article{osti_1324149,
author = {Deng, Shawn and Hassan, Mohammad K. and Nalawade, Amol and Perry, Kelly A. and More, Karren L. and Mauritz, Kenneth A. and McDonnell, Marshall T. and Keffer, David J. and Mays, Jimmy W.},
title = {High temperature proton exchange membranes with enhanced proton conductivities at low humidity and high temperature based on polymer blends and block copolymers of poly(1,3-cyclohexadiene) and poly(ethylene glycol)},
annote = {Hot (at 120 °C) and dry (20% relative humidity) operating conditions benefit fuel cell designs based on proton exchange membranes (PEMs) and hydrogen due to simplified system design and increasing tolerance to fuel impurities. In this paper, presented are preparation, partial characterization, and multi-scale modeling of such PEMs based on cross-linked, sulfonated poly(1,3-cyclohexadiene) (xsPCHD) blends and block copolymers with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). These low cost materials have proton conductivities 18 times that of current industry standard Nafion at hot, dry operating conditions. Among the membranes studied, the blend xsPCHD-PEG PEM displayed the highest proton conductivity, which exhibits a morphology with higher connectivity of the hydrophilic domain throughout the membrane. Simulation and modeling provide a molecular level understanding of distribution of PEG within this hydrophilic domain and its relation to proton conductivities. Finally, this study demonstrates enhancement of proton conductivity at high temperature and low relative humidity by incorporation of PEG and optimized sulfonation conditions.},
doi = {10.1016/j.polymer.2015.09.033},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1324149},
journal = {Polymer},
issn = {ISSN 0032-3861},
volume = {77},
place = {United States},
publisher = {Elsevier},
year = {2015},
month = {09}}
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States);
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE);
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22);
National Science Foundation (NSF) (United States)
Contributing Organization:
Univ. of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS (United States)