ETFE-based anion-exchange membrane ionomer powders for alkaline membrane fuel cells: A first performance comparison of head-group chemistry

Abstract

In the last few years, the development of radiation-grafted powder-form anion-exchange ionomers (AEI), used in combination with anion-exchange membranes (AEM), has led to the assembly of AEM-based fuel cells (AEMFC) that routinely yield power densities ranging between 1-2 W cm-2 (with a variety of catalysts). However, to date, only benzyltrimethylammonium-type powder AEIs have been evaluated in AEMFCs. This study presents an initial evaluation of the relative AEMFC power outputs when using a combination of ETFE-based radiation-grafted AEMs and AEIs containing three different head-group chemistries: benzyltrimethylammonium (TMA), benzyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium (MPY), and benzyl-N-methylpiperidinium (MPRD). The results from this study strongly suggest that future research should focus on the development and operando long-term durability testing of AEMs and AEIs containing the MPRD head-group chemistryThe research was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC grants EP/M014371/1, EP/M022749/1, and EP/M005933/1). ALGB's exchange was funded by FAPESP grants 2016/13277-9 and 2015/09210-3, while EIS' exchange was funded by FAPESP grants 2015/23621-6, 2014/09087-4 and 2014/50279-4. DH's student-exchange was funded by a PDIF Short Stay Scholarship of the Autonomous University of Madrid. GS' 2015 exchange was funded by the ERASMUS+work placement schem

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