Molded, High Surface Area Polymer Electrolyte Membranes from Cured Liquid Precursors

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• 作者：Zhilian Zhou ; Raymond N. Dominey ; Jason P. Rolland ; Benjamin W. Maynor ; Ashish A. Pandya ; Joseph M. DeSimone
• 刊名：Journal of the American Chemical Society
• 出版年：2006
• 出版时间：October 4, 2006
• 年：2006
• 卷：128
• 期：39
• 页码：12963 - 12972
• 全文大小：410K
• 年卷期：v.128,no.39(October 4, 2006)
• ISSN：1520-5126

文摘

Polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) for fuel cells have been synthesized from easilyprocessable, 100% curable, low molecular weight reactive liquid precursors that are photochemically curedinto highly proton conductive solid membranes. The liquid precursors were directly cured into membranesof desired dimensions without the need for further processing steps such as melt extrusion or solventcasting. By employing chemical cross-linking, high proton conductivities can be achieved through theincorporation of significant levels of acidic groups without rendering the material water-soluble, which plaguescommonly used non-cross-linked polymers. Fabrication of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) fromthese PEMs resulted in fuel cells that outperformed those based on commercial materials. Moreover, theseliquid precursors enabled the formation of three-dimensional, patterned PEMs with high fidelity, micron-scale features by using soft lithographic/micromolding techniques. The patterned membranes provided alarger interfacial area between the membrane and catalyst layer than standard flat PEMs. MEAs composedof the patterned membranes demonstrated higher power densities over that of flat ones without an increasein the macroscopic area of the fuel cells. This can potentially miniaturize fuel cells and promote theirapplication in portable devices.