Effect of the spirobiindane group in sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymer as electrode binder for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

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• 作者：Ji Eon Chae^a ; ^b ; Bo Hyun Kim^a ; ^c ; Jee Hyun Noh^a ; Jaewoo Jung^a ; Jin-Young Kim^a ; Jong Hyun Jang^a ; Sung Jong Yoo^a ; Hyoung-Juhn Kim^a ; ^b ; So Young Lee^a ; ^{sylee5406@kist.re.kr}
• 关键词：PEMFC ; Hydrocarbon polymer ; Electrode binder ; High gas permeability ; Spirobiindane group
• 刊名：Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
• 出版年：2017
• 出版时间：25 March 2017
• 年：2017
• 卷：47
• 期：Complete
• 页码：315-322
• 全文大小：1533 K
• 卷排序：47

文摘

Electrode properties determine the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) performance of fuel cells and are influenced by the materials and processing. A high-performance electrode requires good adhesion between the membrane and catalyst, excellent gas permeability, and good ion conduction. Here, sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (SPAES) containing a bulky spirobiindane (Spiro) group is proposed as a new hydrocarbon electrode binder for MEAs. The effect of the Spiro group on MEA performance was compared to that of the common biphenylsulfone. The structural differences between the two binders affected the mass transport region of the current-voltage polarization (related to gas permeation). The spiro-polyethersulfone (PES) had 115 times higher O2 permeability (30 Barrer) than that of PES. From 1H NMR spectra, the degree of sulfonation (DS) of each SPAES was confirmed, where the proton conductivity of Spiro 30, Spiro 20, and BPS 30 were 28.2, 10.1, and 26.9 mS cm−1, respectively. In addition, the DS of the electrode binder contributed to the Ohmic region of the i–V curve. The Ohmic resistance of these hydrocarbon binders was similar to that of commercial Nafion binder (0.13–0.15 Ω cm2). However, the charge transfer resistance of our binders was higher than that of Nafion due to insufficient gas permeability and low proton conductivity.