Characteristics of Polymer Electrolyte Membranes Fabricated from Partially Sulfonated and Crosslinked Poly(ethylene glycol dimethylmethacrylate-co-styrene sulfonic acid) Copolymers

摘要

Over the last two decades, there has been much research into fuel cells due to their ability to convert the chemical energy of fuel into electricity with little pollution and a high energy conversion efficiency. Among the various kinds of fuel cells, direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) and proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) utilize proton exchange membranes (PEMs). They have the potential to replace internal combustion engines in vehicles and for use as portable power sources. DMFCs have many advantages over PEMFCs, even though the cell performance of the DMFC system is lower than those of PEMFCs due to the poor efficiency of its catalyst. A fuel reformer and a high-volume hydrogen storage system, which are essential for the PEMFC, are not required in the DMFC, and it can start up at relatively low temperatures. Even though the DMFC might be the preferable choice over other fuel cells due to these advantages, its commercialization is limited because of problems in the development of proper PEMs and catalysts.