Electrospun Nafion^®/Polyphenylsulfone composite membranes for regenerative Hydrogen bromine fuel cells

Journal Article · Mon Feb 29 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9030143· OSTI ID:1257978

Park, Jun ^[1]; Wycisk, Ryszard  ^[1]; Pintauro, Peter N. ^[1]; Yarlagadda, Venkata ^[2]; Van Nguyen, Trung ^[2]

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1. Vanderbilt Univ., Nashville, TN (United States)
2. Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (United States)

Here, the regenerative H₂/Br₂-HBr fuel cell, utilizing an oxidant solution of Br₂ in aqueous HBr, shows a number of benefits for grid-scale electricity storage. The membrane-electrode assembly, a key component of a fuel cell, contains a proton-conducting membrane, typically based on the perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomer. Unfortunately, the high cost of PFSA membranes and their relatively high bromine crossover are serious drawbacks. Nanofiber composite membranes can overcome these limitations. In this work, composite membranes were prepared from electrospun dual-fiber mats containing Nafion^® PFSA ionomer for facile proton transport and an uncharged polymer, polyphenylsulfone (PPSU), for mechanical reinforcement, and swelling control. After electrospinning, Nafion/PPSU mats were converted into composite membranes by softening the PPSU fibers, through exposure to chloroform vapor, thus filling the voids between ionomer nanofibers. It was demonstrated that the relative membrane selectivity, referenced to Nafion^® 115, increased with increasing PPSU content, e.g., a selectivity of 11 at 25 vol% of Nafion fibers. H₂-Br₂ fuel cell power output with a 65 m thick membrane containing 55 vol% Nafion fibers was somewhat better than that of a 150 m Nafion^® 115 reference, but its cost advantage due to a four-fold decrease in PFSA content and a lower bromine species crossover make it an attractive candidate for use in H₂/Br₂-HBr systems.

• Research Organization: TVN Systems, Inc., Lawrence, KS (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)
• Grant/Contract Number: AR0000262
• OSTI ID: 1257978
• Journal Information: Materials, Vol. 9, Issue 3; ISSN 1996-1944
• Publisher: MDPI
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
proton conducting membrane
electrospinning
Nafion
polyphenylsulfone
redox flow battery
regenerative fuel cell
hydrogen fuel cell
bromine