Russell Borduin; Alexander J. Headley; Wei Li; Dongmei Chen
Abstract
Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells have the potential to replace fossil fuel sources in both automotive and auxiliary stationary power generation applications. Increased implementation of fuel cells would decrease dependence on oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, a major obstacle ...
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Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells have the potential to replace fossil fuel sources in both automotive and auxiliary stationary power generation applications. Increased implementation of fuel cells would decrease dependence on oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, a major obstacle preventing widespread adoption of fuel cells is cost. The two largest contributors to fuel cell costs are platinum catalyst loading and fuel cell power density. The general strategy for increasing power density and decreasing costly catalyst loading remains unchanged regardless of the catalyst used, i.e., to run the fuel cell at higher temperatures and pressures. Present-day automotive fuel cells typically operate over a temperature range of 50-90°C and pressures up to 3 atm. Increasing temperature and pressure allows for reduced catalyst loading and higher voltage output from the fuel cell. These harsher operating conditions require new membrane materials for thermal and water management. This review provides a summary of a variety of humidification membrane materials, both existing and under development, in order to identify a humidification membrane material capable of operating at higher temperature and pressure conditions to increase fuel cell efficiency and lower the humidification.
Franco D.R. Amado;Satheesh Krishnamurthy
Abstract
Over the past decade or so, alternative energy plays a pivotal role in addressing challenges posed by nature. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell is one of the promising alternative energy and there has been significant research and technological investments done in this field. The key information ...
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Over the past decade or so, alternative energy plays a pivotal role in addressing challenges posed by nature. Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell is one of the promising alternative energy and there has been significant research and technological investments done in this field. The key information and future prospective of the field is energy conversion and storage, both of which are essential in order to meet the challenges of global warming and the limited fossil fuel supply. However, polymer membrane in particular plays a crucial role in advancing this technology further. The utilization of conducting polymers in manufacturing membranes combining their electrochemical properties along with mechanical properties is of primary importance to enhance the efficiency of this system. In the present study blends of high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and polyaniline (PAni) were obtained with the aim of producing membranes for fuel cell. HIPS and PAni were dissolved in tetrachloroethylene, a common solvent for both materials. After dissolution, PAni was dispersed in an HIPS polymeric matrix. The membranes were molded on to glass plates using a laminator to keep thickness constant, and the solvent evaporated slowly for 24 h under room temperature. The amount of polyaniline used was 10 and 20 % weight. The electronic and structural properties were carried out using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electronic microscopic (SEM). The analysis indicate that PAni incorporation and its dispersion into the polymeric matrix modifies the membranes properties and show improvement in efficiency.
Omkar S. Kushwaha; C. V. Avadhani; R. P. Singh
Abstract
Acid doped polybenzimidazole membranes have emerged as an efficient electrolyte for high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HTPEMFCs). The long term stability of polybenzimidazole membranes has been recognized as an important issue for commercial applications. Here, we report the oxidative ...
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Acid doped polybenzimidazole membranes have emerged as an efficient electrolyte for high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HTPEMFCs). The long term stability of polybenzimidazole membranes has been recognized as an important issue for commercial applications. Here, we report the oxidative degradation of polybenzimidazole membranes. The photoirradiation of poly(2,2'-ethylene-5,5'-bibenzimidazole) (PBIE) under accelerated photodegradation conditions was carried out by ultraviolet (UV) rays (λ > 300 nm) and characterized by Fourier transform infra red (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and contact angle measurements (CAM). The thermal properties of PBIE membranes were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) which revealed a lowering in thermal stability after photodegradation. FT-IR spectra revealed high absorbance in the carbonyl region in photoirradiated membranes whereas SEM showed nano structures / defects on the polymer film surface. CAM results showed enhancement in hydrophilic behavior and WAXD revealed increase in amorphous nature upon irradiation.
Omkar S. Kushwaha; C. V. Avadhani; R. P. Singh
Abstract
High temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HTPEMFCs) are energy efficient systems with the potential to address all energy issues of present and future generations. Polybenzimidazole (PBI) based high temperature fuel cells are subject of high importance because PBI membranes are proved ...
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High temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HTPEMFCs) are energy efficient systems with the potential to address all energy issues of present and future generations. Polybenzimidazole (PBI) based high temperature fuel cells are subject of high importance because PBI membranes are proved to be one of the best candidates for high temperature fuel cell applications. The stability of PBI membranes has been identified as crucial issue for the long-term durability under oxidative conditions of fuel cells. The present investigation highlights the photo-oxidative degradation studies accomplished on polybenzimidazole based poly(2,2'-butylene-5,5'-bibenzimidazole) (PBIB) membranes. The PBIB polymer membranes are found suitable for both in high temperature fuel cells as well as other high temperature applications. In this research article, PBIB membranes were photoirradiated under polychromatic UV rays (λ > 290 nm). The photo-oxidative degradation of membranes was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FT-IR results showed significant amount of photo-oxidation and chemical degradation in fuel cell membranes which is proposed to be initiated by free radical mechanism. SEM images revealed development of nano-dimensional cracks and holes on surface of membranes which indicate structural and morphological degradation. The present study showed better results of accelerated photo-degradation as compared to the oxidative degradation results already reported in literature obtained chemically and thermally. Hence, the proposed photo-oxidative degradation method may be useful in determining stability, life time expectancy and degradation mechanism of fuel cell and other high performance membranes.