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Sorption and transport properties of water in Nafion{reg_sign}/H{sub 3}PO{sub 4} polymer electrolyte at elevated temperatures

Book ·
OSTI ID:33597
; ; ;  [1]
  1. Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)

A major advantage of the Nafion{reg_sign}/H{sub 3}PO{sub 4} polymer electrolyte, formed by equilibrating Nafion{reg_sign} membranes with phosphoric acid, is that it retains high ionic conductivity at temperatures exceeding 100 C. Thermodynamic and transport properties of the system, including water sorption, solubility, diffusivity, permeability, electro-osmotic drag coefficient and ionic conductivity were determined as a function of water activity and temperatures up to 200 C. Results indicate that the water sorption increases with increasing water vapor activity. The electro-osmotic drag coefficient varies from 0.2 to 0.6 over the range of water vapor activity considered. Reasonably high conductivity (> 0.05 {Omega}{sup {minus}1} cm{sup {minus}1}) is observed at the elevated temperatures. Consequently, the Nafion{reg_sign}/H{sub 3}PO{sub 4} system is promising for high temperature PEM fuel cells applications.

OSTI ID:
33597
Report Number(s):
CONF-940529--; ISBN 1-56677-080-7
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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