Sulfonated poly(phthalazinone ether ketone) for proton exchange membranes in direct methanol fuel cells

Abstract

Sulfonated poly(phthalazinone ether ketone) (SPPEK) membranes were cast from N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) solution and tested for their application as proton exchange membranes (PEMs) in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The methanol and water swelling uptake and several permeation tests indicated that SPPEK had a lower affinity to methanol than Nafion and was less permeable than Nafion. In a single cell DMFC test at 70 • C with the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) made of SPPEK, the maximum power density was 55 mW/cm 2 as the current density was 276 mA/cm 2 and the ultimate (limiting) current density was 360 mA/cm 2 . The lower permeability of SPPEK compared with Nafion resulted in lower methanol crossover. Consequently, the optimal concentration of aqueous feed methanol (3 M) for the SPPEK MEA was higher than that of Nafion (2 M) under the same operation conditions.

Sulfonated Poly(aryl ether)‐Type Polymers as Proton Exchange Membranes: Synthesis and Performance

“…Because of their low methanol permeability, the PEMs in this category may be utilized in low power DMFC applications where high methanol feed concentration may be preferred. Similar performance behavior was observed with the SPPEK (Scheme 1.7) [96] and mono-sulfonated SPES membranes [97]. Sulfonated PAEs having strong specific interactions [101] and highly methanol impermeable heterocyclic polymers such as sulfonated polyimides [102,103] may also fall into this category.…”

“…DMFC performances using sulfonated PAEs prepared either by post-sulfonation or direct copolymerization have been reported [94][95][96][97]. Performance evaluation of PEMs in DMFC mode is more complex than in the hydrogen fuel cell mode because the cell performance of DMFC is determined not only by cell resistance but also by the methanol crossover.…”

Impregnated membranes for direct methanol fuel cells at high methanol concentrations

“…pre-treatment, casting solvent, etc. For example, in literature N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) was often used as a casting solvent [19,21], while our membranes were prepared in NMP. Fig.…”

“…An alternative strategy to minimize methanol crossover is by using a polymer with low methanol cross-over such as sulfonated poly(phthalazinone ether ketone) (SPPEK). Its low methanol cross-over and reasonable proton conductivity make it attractive for hydrogen and methanol fuel cells [1,[17][18][19][20][21]. In this study we combine both strategies, in fact we impregnate SPPEK polymer into a polyethylene support, Solupor ® microporous film (SPPEK-PE), aiming to decrease the methanol cross-over and cost, and at the same time to increase their dimensional stability and fuel cell performance.…”

Isomeric effect of sulfonated poly(arylene ether)s comprising dihydroxynaphthalene on properties for polymer electrolyte membranes

“…[1][2][3] Aromatic condensation polymers have advantages in low permeability of fuels such as hydrogen and methanol, low cost to manufacture, and variety of possibility to design molecular structures. From these view points, sulfonated polymers derived from poly(arylene ether ketone)s, [4][5][6][7] poly(arylene ether sulfone)s, [8][9][10][11][12] poly(arylene thioether)s, [13][14][15][16] other poly (arylene ether)s, [17][18][19][20] polyimides, [21][22][23][24][25][26][27] poly(phenylene)s, [28][29][30][31][32] and other types of polymers have been extensively studied so far. To get useful information for molecular designing of PEM, systematic study about the influence of polymer structure on membrane performance is highly effective.…”