New Proton-conductive Membranes for Fuel Cells Based on Hybrid Composites

Abstract

New hybrid organic-inorganic composites based on sulfur-containing styrene copolymers and allyl glycidyl ether and tetraethoxysilane were obtained by a sol-gel synthesis method. The membranes created on the basis of composites have protonconductive properties and are characterized by a higher heat-exchange capacity compared with commercial membranes as Nafion and MF-4 SK, enabling to consider them as perspective membrane materials for fuel cells.

Proton-Exchange Hybrid Membranes: A Copolymer of Ethylene Glycol Vinyl Glycidyl Ether and Vinyl Chloride/Polyorganylsilsesquioxane

“…The presence of epoxy groups in their composition makes it possible to achieve strong binding of the organic part with the organosilicon block of the mem-brane in the process of sol-gel synthesis and promotes the improvement of the mechanical characteristics of the membrane [34]. Earlier, we studied membranes based on sulfonated styrene-allyl glycidyl ether copolymers and silica, which provide proton conductivity of 1.35-4.21 × 10 −2 S cm −1 at a relative humidity of 75% and ultimate tensile strength of 4-7 MPa [35,36].…”