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Title: Electrochemical Measurement of Water Transport Numbers in Anion-Exchange Membranes

Journal Article · · Journal of the Electrochemical Society

Anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) are a possible replacement for perfluorosulfonic-acid membranes in energy-conversion devices, primarily due to the hydroxide mobile ion allowing the devices to operate in alkaline conditions with less expensive electrocatalysts. However, the transport properties of AEMs remain understudied, especially electro-osmosis. In this work, an electrochemical technique, where the open-circuit voltage is measured between two ends of a membrane maintained at different relative humidities, is used to determine the water transport number of various ionomers, including Versogen and Sustainion AEMs and Nafion cation-exchange membrane (CEM), as a function of water content and temperature. In addition, the CEMs and AEMs are examined in differing single-ion forms, specifically proton and sodium (CEM) and hydroxide and carbonate (AEM). Carbonate-form AEMs have the highest transport number (~11), followed by sodium-form CEMs (~8), hydroxide-form AEMs (~6), and proton-form CEMs (~3). Finally, a multicomponent transport model based on the Stefan-Maxwell-Onsager framework of binary interactions is used to develop a link between water transport number and water-transport properties, extracting a range for the unmeasured membrane water permeability of Versogen as a function of water content.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO); USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
2217238
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 2204747; OSTI ID: 2368578
Journal Information:
Journal of the Electrochemical Society, Vol. 170, Issue 11; ISSN 0013-4651
Publisher:
IOP PublishingCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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  • Jiang, Ruichun; Mittelsteadt, Cortney K.; Gittleman, Craig S.
  • Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 156, Issue 12, p. B1440-B1446 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.3240877
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